


Claiming Him

by hummerhouse



Series: Short Stories and Novellas [8]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: Angst, Complete, Explicit Language, Multi, Turtlecest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:32:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 50,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2113494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hummerhouse/pseuds/hummerhouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: The TMNT are not mine. No money being made.<br/>Word Count: 50,824<br/>Summary: Three out of four ain't bad, unless everyone wants the fourth one.<br/>Rated: Varies by chapter from T to E<br/>Heavy T-Cest (turtle incest), multiple partners, explicit - don't like, don't read</p>
<p><b>!!~~</b>Winner in the 2014/15 TMNT Mature Fanfiction Competition: (Erotica Section) Sexiest Leonardo 1st Place<b>~~!!</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

            “I’ve been thinking about Mikey,” Raph said.

            Lying on Donatello’s bed with his head propped on his hands, Raph glanced at Leo and Don and then returned his gaze to the ceiling.  All three were sleepy after a particularly hot and heavy threesome.  It wasn’t often that any of them could get together and even rarer when all three managed to make it into the same bed.

            “What about him?” Leo asked in a drowsy voice.

            “I’m tired of hiding what we do from him,” Raph said.  “It’s hard enough keeping it from Master Splinter, but Mikey’s sharp.  It ain’t gonna take long for him ta figure it out even if we don’t do anything unless he’s out of the lair.”

            “He’s probably already figured it out,” Don said dreamily.  “Why do you think he’s spending so much more time at April’s or playing Turtle Titan?”

            “So maybe we should find out for sure,” Raph said.

            “How do you suggest we do that without giving it away?” Leo asked, growing more alert.

            “Shell, ya’ talk ta him Donny,” Raph suggested.  “You’re smart enough ta know what ta say.”

            “Mikey’s as perceptive as I am smart,” Don told him.  “He’ll know what I’m leading up to.”

            “Maybe that would be best,” Raph mused.  “Maybe he might want ta join us.”

            Leo turned his head to look at Raph.  His red banded brother was wearing a contemplative look with just a touch of a lecherous leer.

            “Do you want Mikey?” Leo asked point blank.

            Raph gave him a quick look.  “Ya’ don’t?” he asked.

            When Leo didn’t say anything, Raph snorted.  “Yeah.  How ‘bout ya’ Don?  Gonna tell us ya’ ain’t had any thoughts about Mikey’s cute little ass?”

            “Of course I have,” Don admitted.

            “’S what I thought,” Raph stated smugly.  “It doesn’t feel right that he ain’t a part of this.”

            “What do you plan to do if Don talks to him and Mikey isn’t interested?” Leo wanted to know.

            Raph’s gold eyes glinted in the dim light.

            “Maybe a little gentle persuasion; show him what he’s missing,” Raph said, his voice deep enough to curl his brother’s toes.

            “I really doubt if your usual methods are going to be effective against Mikey,” Don said.

            “Ya’ got a better idea brainiac?”  Raph rolled his head to the side and stared at Don.  “Go ahead and take a shot at him yourself.  See which of us comes out on top.”

            Don grimaced.  “Already starting with the sexual innuendo Raph?  Mikey will laugh at you.”

            “What’s your idea Don?  Ya’ think ya’ can talk him into bed?  He’ll tune your ass out.”  Raph nudged Leo.  “Come on Fearless, tell us what ya’ think.”

            Leo blinked and yawned.  “I don’t think either method will work.”

            Raph’s short bark of laughter was derisive.  “Uh huh,” he said.  “I suppose ya’ got a plan already?”

            Leo didn’t bother to answer.  Pulling a pillow under his head, he settled into a more comfortable position.

            Don glanced at him and then at Raph.  “So what do you propose; a contest?”

            “Why not?  We all want Mikey, let’s see which one of us can claim him,” Raph responded.

            Don chuckled.  “Then I have the advantage since I get to talk to him first.”

            Raph started to protest but checked himself.  He was the one who’d told Don to speak to Mikey in the first place.

            Scowling at Don because he had a sneaking suspicion his brother had already outmaneuvered him, Raph said, “Good.  When he shoots ya’ down ya’ can go ahead and admit defeat.  I’m warning both of ya’ right now; once I’ve got Mikey I ain’t gonna share him for a while.  Not until I’ve got him good and trained ta my way of doing things.”

            “If you want to play it that way, then we will,” Don said, rising to the challenge.  “When he’s mine, Mikey stays with me until I say different.”

            “Yo Leo, are ya’ in this or what?” Raph asked.

            “I’m in,” Leo said quietly.  “I’m just not too sure about claiming him like Mikey’s some type of trophy.”

            “Then you’re welcome ta not try very hard,” Raph said sarcastically.  “It doesn’t make any difference ta us.”

            “Just as long as we all accept no for an answer if he gives us one,” Leo said.

            “Hmm,” Don mused.  “If Leo doesn’t try and when Mikey runs away from Raph, it leaves the field open for me.”

            Raph sat up and crawled over Leo’s legs to get to Don.  “Ya’ didn’t run away when I put the moves on ya’,” he reminded Don.

            “I’m a different animal than Michelangelo,” Don teased.  “I respond to your Neanderthal technique.”

            Leo ignored the churrs and soft moans of pleasure coming from the other side of the bed.  His mind was reviewing the challenge his brother had just issued.  He was also going over what he saw as fatal flaws in both of their planned approaches.

            He recalled a line from his favorite Bruce Lee movie.  Challenged by a bully on his style, Lee had said “My style?  You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.”

            That was what Leo was prepared to do.  A little deception and some sleight of hand and Mikey would be his.

            Leonardo smiled.

TBC……..


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 1,949  
> Rated: PG-13

            “Good morning Mikey,” Leo said to his sleepy looking younger brother.

            Michelangelo’s mouth was wide open with a yawn that he made no attempt to hide.  He’d stayed out a little later than usual the night before and knew he was going to pay for it during morning practice.

            Still, it was better than getting home too early and having to listen to _them_.  It wouldn’t surprise him in the least if his brothers thought he didn’t know what they were doing with each other.  Sometimes those three could be so dense.

            “’Morning Leo,” Mikey mumbled back.

            He poured himself a glass of orange juice and eyed the coffee maker as he drank it.  Not a big fan of coffee or tea, he decided that the jolt of caffeine would more than make up for the taste.

            As he set about making a fresh pot he could feel Leo’s eyes on him.  He kept waiting for Leo to call him out on his late night.  One of these mornings Mikey was going to snap and tell Leo that if he, Raph and Don would take their sexcapades elsewhere then Mikey wouldn’t have to abandon the lair.

            “Did you have an eventful night?” Leo asked; his tone mild.

            The coffee was just starting to drip into the pot and Mikey glanced over his shoulder at Leo.  However, Leo wasn’t even looking at him; he was holding the newspaper up in front of his face.

            “I suppose,” Mikey replied.  “April did anyway.  I spent hours shoving things around in her storeroom so she could make room for a new shipment of junk.”

            He poured himself a cup of coffee and tossed some bread into the toaster before taking a seat across from his brother.  Shoveling sugar into his cup in an attempt to make the coffee taste better, he watched as Leo lowered the paper to reach for his tea.

            “Watch the sugar intake, Mikey,” Leo said.  “You’ll be bouncing off of the walls.”

            “That’s sorta the point,” Mikey said in a sour tone.  “I’m trying to wake up.”

            “Maybe it’s time to cut back on all of the late nights,” Leo said as he lifted his cup to his mouth.

            A sharp retort made it to the end of Mikey’s tongue and no further as Raph and Don strolled into the kitchen.  Swallowing what he was going to say, Mikey turned his attention back to the inside of his cup.

            “’Morning Leo.  ‘Morning squirt,” Raph said as he grabbed a box of cereal from the cupboard.

            “I’m almost as tall as you Raph.  Stop calling me squirt,” Mikey said without looking at him.

            Raph grinned as he took down a clean bowl and handed a cup to Don, who had gone straight to the coffeemaker.  Don’s eyes were half shut and would remain that way until his first cup of liquid caffeine.

            With a swift glance to make sure Mikey wasn’t looking, Raph reached over and gave one of Don’s butt cheeks a quick squeeze.  Don didn’t even look at him as he swatted Raph’s hand away.

            The toast popped up and before Mikey could get out of his chair, Raph grabbed it and took a big bite out of one piece.

            “Hey, that’s my toast,” Mikey protested.

            Raph set his breakfast on the table and straddled a chair.  “You snooze, you lose,” he said raffishly.

            “You’re a jerk,” Mikey said as he got up to put some more bread into the toaster.  When Raph simply laughed, Mikey asked, “Why are you in such a good mood this morning?”

            Don froze with his cup halfway to his mouth and Leo’s eyes darted towards Raph.  Seeing the reaction, Mikey wished he hadn’t asked that question.

            Raph shoveled another bite of cereal into his mouth.  “I must’ve had a really relaxing night,” he answered around a mouthful of food.

            An uncomfortable silence fell as Mikey put his toast on a plate and came back to the table.  He was spreading jelly on a slice when some of it dropped onto his finger.

            Raph’s hand shot across the table and grabbed Mikey’s.  Before Mikey could react, Raph was licking the jelly from his little brother’s finger.

            Mikey jerked his hand away and snatched a napkin off the table.  “Eww!” Mikey said in disgust.  “Keep your cooties to yourself.”

            Leo’s paper rattled and he cleared his throat.  “Finish up you guys, it’s time for practice.”

            Mikey glared at Raph as he ate the rest of his breakfast.  His red banded brother’s attention was on his cereal and apparently didn’t notice.

            Once they were all in the dojo, Leo put them through a warm up routine and then a series of katas.  Master Splinter watched them for a while before leaving to secure his own breakfast.

            After they were finished and had stretched, Leo said, “We aren’t going to work with weapons today; just some sparring I think.  Don, you’re with me for the remainder of practice.  Raph, it’s you and Mikey.”

            “W . . . wait,” Don spluttered, “don’t we usually trade off?”

            He had expected that Leo would take advantage of the fact that as leader, he could pair them off anyway he saw fit.  Don envisioned Leo taking on Mikey; if Don were in the leader’s position that’s certainly what he would have done when competing for the youngest brother’s affections.

            Leo shook his head.  “Not today.  I want to work with you on your hand-to-hand technique.  I think you’ve gotten a little too used to your bo staff’s reach.”

            Don wanted to protest against Leo giving Raphael such an advantage, but he couldn’t say anything with Mikey standing right there.  Raph was leering at his little brother, his gold eyes bright as he raked them across Mikey’s body.

            Turning to face Raph, Mikey saw something was a little different about his brother.  The usual aggression and cockiness was there, but Raph also appeared very eager.

            Right away it was obvious that Raph was more concerned with knocking Mikey down than with anything else.  He barely worried about blocking Mikey’s strikes as he kept maneuvering for an opportunity to toss his orange banded brother to the mat.

            Even Mikey’s taunts didn’t seem to faze the hot head this morning.  Raph’s single-mindedness was throwing Mikey out of his stride, and that made the younger turtle careless.

            Blocking a right hook, Mikey came in towards Raph as his brother spun completely around.  Mikey saw the sweeping back fist coming at him and ducked, but as he came back up he didn’t have time to avoid the swift side kick to his plastron.

            Hitting the ground, Mikey rolled back on his carapace and then forward to gain his feet.  Halfway up Mikey saw an emerald blur flying straight at him.

            Raph’s body weight on top of his own drove the air out of Mikey’s lungs as he hit the mat for a second time.  His attempts to push Raph off of him were unsuccessful; once the red banded turtle had Mikey down, he pinned Mikey’s arms and straddled his younger brother’s thighs.

            “Gotcha,” Raph announced in a triumphant tone.

            “Big deal,” Mikey huffed.  “I can still take you in three out of four falls.”

            Raph leaned forward with a strange expression on his face.  “Is that what you want most, Mikey?  Ya’ want ta take me?”

            “Huh?”  Mikey stared as he watched Raph’s face come closer.  He finally recognized the look that was in Raph’s eyes; it was hunger.

            Mikey felt Raph’s knees tighten around his thighs and then his brother’s hands clamped down harder on Mikey’s wrists.

            They were both breathing heavily from their fight and now Mikey could feel Raph’s breath blowing across his skin.  The whole morning suddenly made sense to Mikey now; apparently not satisfied with playing with each other, his brothers had decided to include him in their fun.

            “Just tell me how ya’ want this ta go, Mikey.  I’ll make it happen for ya’,” Raph husked, his voice an octave lower.

            “O~kay,” Mikey said in what he hoped was his brightest tone, “I want you to get off of me.  You won dude, you don’t have to rub it in.”

            Raph rocked side to side as a corner of his mouth tweaked upwards.  “I like that word.  Rub.  It’s a damn fine word.”

            “Raph, get off,” Mikey repeated, trying to pull his arms free.

            “Get off is good to,” Raph told him, placing his mouth an inch away from Mikey’s ear slit.  “Do ya’ ever do that, Mikey?  Ya’ know, ‘get off’?  Ya’ ever play a lone hand bro’?  Ya’ ever get tired of spankin’ the monkey?”

            “Do you ever listen to yourself?” Mikey shot back.  “If you’re trying to gross me out today, you’ve done it.”

            “That’s the problem I’m trying ta help ya’ with, Mikey,” Raph told him, pulling back enough to look into Mikey’s eyes.  “You’ve never ‘done it’.  Bet ya’ wonder about it sometimes, don’t ya?”

            Raph lifted a hand from Mikey’s wrist to pet his younger brother’s side suggestively.  Mikey’s hand curled into a fist and he punched his brother’s outer thigh muscle as hard as he could.

            “Oh shit!” Raph yelled, sitting up quickly and grabbing the injury.

            Mikey shoved Raph all the way off of him and scrambled to his feet.

            “What the fuck did ya’ do that for?” Raph growled as he rubbed his thigh.

            “Dude, I yielded,” Mikey said.  “I didn’t want your heavy butt sitting on me any longer than necessary.”

            Raph’s eyes narrowed as he slowly got to his feet.  Before he could do anything, Leo appeared right next to him.

            “I think that was a no,” Leo said quietly.

            Raph’s head whipped around and he focused an icy glare on his older brother.  Leo’s mouth was curved slightly upwards at the corners as he studied Raph’s reaction.

            His first instinct was to snap, but then Raph thought better of it.  With an indifferent shrug, he said, “Hey, I was just giving the nut ball a taste of his own medicine.” 

            Turning back towards Mikey, Raph said, “How do ya’ like it when someone picks at ya’ during a bout?”

            Mikey chose to behave as though he was completely naïve; it seemed like his best defense at the moment.

            “Ha, ha,” Mikey told him.  “That just proves my method of fighting is better than yours.”

            Leo interrupted them.  “This would be a good point to end practice for the morning.  We haven’t been out on patrol in a while, so let’s plan on doing that tonight, okay?”

            “Yeah, sure,” Raph said, his eyes on Mikey as the youngest headed for the door.

            “Dibs on the shower,” Mikey called back at them as he quickly disappeared.

            Don walked over to Raph and Leo.  All three of them were staring at Mikey’s retreating carapace.

            “Good job, Raph.  You managed to freak him out completely,” Don teased.

            Leo barely heard Raph’s rejoinder.  He knew his hot headed brother would be too impatient about pushing his attentions on Mikey to be in the least bit subtle in his approach; that was why Leo put them together to spar.

            Raph obviously didn’t understand how unreceptive Mikey would be to having an issue forced on him, but Leo knew.  Raph’s blatant aggression was off-putting to the orange banded turtle and had only managed to aggravate Mikey.

            Mikey might seem transparent and easy going, but he actually had many, many layers to his personality, making him so much more complex than either Raph or Don understood.

            But Leo did.  Leo understood a lot about Mikey’s character and that knowledge gave him a distinct advantage.

TBC……………..


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,151  
> Rated: PG-13

            There was no formality about the noon day meal in the Turtle’s household; it was mostly catch-as-catch-can.  Mikey was happy to find that he had the kitchen to himself.

            Morning practice had left him in no mood to interact with Raph.  Mikey was pretty sure his hot blooded sibling would be happy to pick up where he’d left off and the youngest brother was just not interested.

            Mikey didn’t know exactly when his three older brothers had started being intimate with each other; he only knew that he’d caught on to the fact about a month ago.  He still had no idea who began the whole thing but he could understand why.

            They were doomed to a damned lonely existence; even if some human found them attractive in that way, they couldn’t risk that kind of involvement.  Relationships go bad, as Master Splinter’s favorite shows depicted all of the time, and when that happened, people got vindictive.

            Michelangelo was fairly resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to be fulfilled in that sort of way and coming to terms with that left him satisfied with the status quo.  Apparently that hadn’t been enough for Leo, Don, and Raph.  Somehow they’d gotten together and maybe it was simply a physical thing; Mikey sure as shell didn’t know.

            His brothers hadn’t said anything to him.  They seemed to be content to have sex and hide it from Master Splinter and Mikey too.  Why they’d left him out of the loop he didn’t know; maybe Leo had sensed that Mikey would think the entire thing disgusting.

            Which Mikey did actually, he was just suffering from a little injury to his pride.  After all, he thought as he chuckled to himself, he _was_ the best looking one in the bunch.

            Sitting at the table, he had just lifted his sandwich to his mouth when Don strolled in.

            “Kind of a late lunch for you, isn’t it Mikey?” Don asked as he filled a thermos with coffee.

            “Yeah,” Mikey answered, chewing the bite he’d just taken.  Swallowing, he eyed the thermos before asking, “You going on a trip?”

            Don smiled and shook his head.  “Not unless you count a few hours up in the garage working on the truck’s transmission as an adventure.  I just didn’t want to keep coming down here.”

            Heading out the door, Don paused and looked back at Mikey.  “Hey, when you’re finished with lunch come on up.  I found the problem with your hoverboard.”

            “Oh cool,” Mikey said enthusiastically and began wolfing his sandwich.

            Don was at his work table cleaning something with a small wire brush when Mikey made it to the garage.  His older brother didn’t look up as Mikey walked over to the table, so the younger turtle fidgeted for a moment before picking up some random tool.

            “That’s a really sensitive calibration device,” Don said, although his eyes were still on the job he was doing.

            Since Mikey knew that was genius code for ‘put it down before you break it’, Mikey gingerly replaced the tool on the table.

            About a second later, Don set the brush and auto part on the table and glanced at Mikey.  The orange banded turtle saw a flash of something cross Donny’s eyes before he turned to grab Mikey’s hoverboard off of the bench that was behind him.

            “Try it for me so I can make sure I’ve fixed that stalling problem you were having,” Don said.

            Grinning happily, Mikey set the board down, climbed on and touched the control to start it.  Balanced perfectly, Mikey sped around the interior of the garage, at times moving so fast he was simply an orange blur.

            Don watched him through hooded eyes.  Mikey was by far the most gifted and natural athlete of the four and his body, to Don, was a work of art.  He was also the only one of the brother’s to never, in any way, shape or form, express an interest in sex.

            It was primarily for that reason that when Raph and Leo brought Don into the joys of a physical relationship they had chosen not to broach the subject to Mikey.  The youngest had a tendency to be immature even though he was very, very bright.

            Mikey took his board through several complicated maneuvers before bringing it to a stop in front of Don.  The smile on Mikey’s face was infectious and Don returned it easily.

            “Dude!  That was awesome!” Mikey exclaimed a bit breathlessly.

            Don began to breathe a bit faster in reaction.  Mikey’s entire body was singing with energy and being near him was almost like being caught in the center of a super nova.

            Imagining what it would be like to harness that energy in the bedroom made Don’s body quiver.  He had Mikey all to himself and it was his turn to make a play for the youngest.

            Determined not to repeat Raph’s mistake, Don said calmly, “No problems this time?”

            “None at all bro’,” Mikey said gleefully.  “It didn’t sputter or jerk even once.  What’d you do?”

            “It was the fuel mixture,” Don told him.  “One of the additives was a little too rich, so I modified the composition.  When you need to refuel, make sure you use the canisters with the orange tape on them.  I’ve still got to remix the rest of it.”

            “That’s easy enough to remember,” Mikey said.  “The orange is just for me.”

            “Yes, just for you Mikey,” Don replied.  “I like doing things for you.”

            The slight change in his voice and demeanor didn’t escape Mikey’s notice.

            “Thanks Donny,” Mikey said; his smile bright.  “I really appreciate that.”

            Don looked away from Mikey’s face as he began cleaning the grime from his fingers and asked, “Do you have a couple of minutes, Mikey?  I’d really like to talk to you about something.”

            Mikey’s smile faded.  He could hazard a pretty fair guess as to what Don wanted to talk about and he was also sure that it was Leo who’d asked Don to bring up the subject.  Don _was_ the least intimidating of the brothers when it came to delicate topics.

            With some trepidation, Mikey said, “Sure Don.  Go ahead.”

            “You know I’ve tried for a long time to understand something about how we came to exist, don’t you Mikey?” Don asked as he once more turned to look at his brother.  Mikey’s nod let him know to continue.  “Part of the reason I’ve spent so much time on that is because of the fact that there are only four of our kind.”

            “Hard to wrap your head around the idea it was a freak accident and not some cosmic design, right bro’?” Mikey asked.

            Don looked startled.  “Well, _yes_.  I suppose I do want to think there was a greater reason, although I don’t think I want to dip into the religious aspects.”  He shrugged.  This discussion would be for another time, but he’d remember to bring it up now that he knew Mikey understood.

            “You know Donny, sometimes you just accept things for the way they are and move on,” Mikey said gently.

            Don laughed.  “Maybe you can teach me to do that.  I have a feeling you could teach me a lot of things, Mikey.  There are things I’d like to be able to teach you as well; things that have to do with making our existence not seem so lonely.”

            On most occasions, Mikey would have enjoyed dragging the conversation along and seeing just how uncomfortable Don could get before spilling what was on his mind.  Mikey liked to pretend he didn’t understand things because his brothers usually wound up telling him way more than they ever meant to.

            This subject though was not one he wanted to prolong.  Raph had fired the first salvo and now Don was getting his artillery ready to take a shot at Mikey’s defenses.  Mikey decided he would take the fight to the enemy.

            “Are you talking about sex?” Mikey asked, interrupting his brother.

            Donatello blinked his surprise.  “Um, yes,” he murmured.

            Mikey nodded.  “Yeah, I thought that was what you were trying to get around to talking about.  First Raph and now you; by the way, you’re both doing a crummy job of coming out to me.”

            “Wait.  What, you knew?” Don asked incredulously, a blush tinting his cheeks a dark green.

            “You didn’t do all that great a job of hiding it. _‘Oh, harder Raph, please!’_   Geez, you should’ve just written a note on your door,” Mikey told him.

            If possible, Don blushed even more.  “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

            “I’m sure there are lots of things I’m not supposed to hear,” Mikey said.  “I’ve been trying damned hard _not_ to hear them too.”

            “That’s why you’ve been spending so much time away from the lair,” Don stated.

            “Yep,” Mikey acknowledged.  “I know you guys think you’re being stealthy and all, but geez dude, my bedroom is just down the hall.”

            “I’m sorry we were hiding this from you,” Don said.  “Maybe if we’d been more forthcoming to start with we wouldn’t have made you so uncomfortable.”

            Mikey knew he was on a slippery slope; the wrong word would get him invited into the sex pact and he really didn’t want anything to do with it.  Especially if it was anything as coarse and primitive as Raph’s earlier show had been.

            Knowing his brothers considered him lacking in maturity made things a bit easier.

            “Uncomfortable isn’t the word I would use,” Mikey said.  “Disgusting kinda describes it better.  I mean, you guys wanna do that, more power to you.  I’m kinda glad someone decided to stop hiding it though so now we can plan stuff better.”

            “P . . . plan?” Don stammered.  Mikey had just called sex ‘disgusting’.

            “Yeah, you know, for whenever you guys just can’t contain the need to rut like animals.  Let me know and I’ll make other arrangements for the night.  It’ll be so much easier than trying to judge from your expressions that the three of you are about to turn into some lower life form,” Mikey said.

            “It isn’t like that, Mikey,” Don protested.

            “Sure it is,” Mikey told him vehemently.  “Raph’s behavior earlier is a great example.  Gotta say I’m surprised you and Leo crawl into a bed with him, but to each his own I guess.”

            “Let me explain it better,” Don begged.  This conversation was absolutely not going in the direction he had planned.

            “Nah,” Mikey said as he picked up his hoverboard.  “I’m gonna go take a ride through the sewers.  Thanks again for fixing my board dude.”

            Before Don had a chance to regroup, Mikey was gone.

            Mikey half expected to find Leo waiting for him when he came back from the garage.  In no mood to bounce this sex subject around anymore, Mikey was ready to tackle his oldest brother on the issue and give him the same resounding smack down he’d given Raph and Don.

            But Leo wasn’t anywhere in sight.  Taking a peek into the dojo, Mikey saw Leo going through a set of imaginary battles, his katanas out and whirling.  Leo’s eyes were closed as he visualized the scene of his fight, moving his body with the speed and coordinated rhythm that made the oldest so unique.

            Mikey shoved his confrontational mood back and quietly left.  Since they were going on patrol tonight, he figured that’s when Leo would choose to take his turn at broaching the subject.  When he did, Mikey would make sure Leo understood in no uncertain terms that the youngest wanted nothing to do with sex.  Maybe if Mikey worded it strongly enough, the message would be received and they’d all leave him alone.

            Leo’s eyes opened partway when he felt Mikey’s presence but he gave no indication that he’d noticed his brother.  Mikey looked perturbed and Leo could guess that the conversation with Don hadn’t gone exactly the way the genius had thought it would.

            He didn’t have to be a fly on the wall to know that Don’s technique of circling a subject was a bitter failure.  Mikey didn’t have the kind of patience to wait through one of Don’s wordy explanations and he would have resented any hint of condescension.

            Leo knew Mikey was expecting his oldest brother to tackle him on the subject next and that’s why the orange banded turtle had looked into the dojo.  A strategist a heart, Leo knew better than to let his opponent pick the time and place for a battle.  He also knew better than to allow his adversary to have his weapons ready.

            They were going on patrol tonight and that’s when Leo would make his first move, but it would not be anything Mikey could anticipate.  Leo knew better than to give Mikey any kind of advantage at all.

TBC……………………


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,713  
> Rated: PG-13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This incredible image was created by the wonderfully gifted MomoRawrr from DeviantArt  
> 

            Four brothers perched atop a building overlooking a rundown New York City neighborhood.

            The air was warm and slightly muggy; the only thing that kept it from being uncomfortable was a constant stiff breeze.  Arriving on the rooftop about fifteen minutes prior to this, they waited to get some sense of the city’s vibrations.

            Finally Leonardo took a deep breath.  “We’ll separate into pairs and patrol for two hours before we rendezvous on top of the old hotel on Canal.  Tonight is about stealth bro’s; I want to start cleaning up this neighborhood, not be the cause of excitement for the innocents who live here.

            “If you have to fight, go in fast; get the job done and get out.  Don’t kill unless it’s absolutely necessary; a broken limb will put the bad guys out of commission long enough for them to consider a career change.

            “Keep in mind that Karai still has her Foot patrols out searching for us.  Do not, under any circumstances, engage her ninjas.  That isn’t why we’re out here and I don’t want her to think that tactic is a good one.  Is that crystal clear?” Leo asked.

            Raph growled his answer, “Yeah Fearless, message received.  No playin’ with the Foot, no killin’ bad guys.  How about Purple Dragons?”

            Leo gave him a withering look.  “I’m not going to write a list for you Raph.  Two categories tonight; perpetrators and Foot ninja.”

            “Pound one, avoid the other.  Can do,” Mikey said.

            “So how are we splittin’ up?” Raph asked with just the faintest smirk.

            Leo’s expression didn’t change; he was all business.  “You and Don head south.  Mikey and I will take the section to the north.  Keep your shell cells handy; if you run into a situation, call for backup.  That’s not debatable; nobody plays hero, this is a team.”

            “We’ve actually done this a few times, Leo,” Raph said sarcastically.

            “And yet my message somehow continues to get lost in the translation,” Leo retorted, looking at his hot headed brother pointedly.

            Don placed a hand on Raph’s bicep and told Leo, “We’ll keep a low profile _and_ our eyes open.”

            “Then let’s do this,” Leo said.

            Raph’s eyes glittered as he looked from Leo to Mike and back again.  The ninja leader chose to ignore him as he signaled to Mikey and began running.

            Mikey kept pace with Leo as they ran; neither going as fast as they could because they were both watching and listening for street level activity.  They were also keeping their eyes open in case any Foot ninja showed up in this section of the city.

            It was no surprise to the orange banded turtle that his oldest brother had chosen to pair up with him tonight; in fact, Mikey had anticipated that would happen.  His three older brothers had been having intimate relations for who knew how long and it was obvious they’d decided to invite Mikey to join them.

            Raph had taken what Mikey could only assume was his best shot during morning practice.  Subtlety wasn’t Raph’s strong suit; the straight forward approach was what his hot headed brother did best.

            In battle that approach was an awesome thing but for what Raph had apparently been proposing it had come across as piggish.  Mikey was not impressed by the tactics and incredibly disgusted by the innuendos.

            Don’s approach was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum.  Slow and methodical, it did absolutely nothing for Mikey except make him feel patronized.

            Granting Don his claim to genius status, Mikey still resented his purple banded brother’s assumption that the youngest was incapable of understanding what had been happening around their home.  Mikey did not walk around with blinders on and did not appreciate being treated as though he did.

            Michelangelo was simply not interested in sex.  He was sure there was probably a word to describe how he felt about the subject; shell they had a word for everything, but that was what it boiled down to.  He wasn’t going to begrudge his brothers their fun; he just wanted to be left alone about it already.

            So here he was, two hours alone with Leo running the rooftops of NYC.  He was determined to be silent on the subject of sex and to let Leo approach it however he saw fit.  The approach would clue Mikey into the best way to deal with squashing the subject for good.

            A little over an hour passed and the only conversation between the two was the occasional “keep your eyes open Mikey”, “did you hear something in that alley Leo?”, “let’s break left” or “someone’s on that roof, go this way”.

            Mikey was beginning to believe he was wrong about Leo using this opportunity to talk to him about sex.  Leo took the whole ninja thing very seriously and could be pretty damned focused when they were on patrol.  It shouldn’t have surprised Mikey that Leo wouldn’t allow personal needs to interfere with his duty.

            Suddenly Leo stopped and lifted a hand.  Mikey hadn’t heard anything, but Leo often sensed things before there was a physical manifestation.

            “I thought I heard a scuffle in the alley,” Leo whispered.  “Let’s go down; you take that end and I’ll go this direction.”  Leo pointed left and right.  “Stay invisible bro’.”

            Mikey nodded his agreement to air because Leo was already gone.  Leonardo could move faster than the lights that tried to push the shadows away from him.

            Going over the roof, Mikey found finger and footholds in the brickwork to use for climbing down rather than attempting the rattle and squeak of the metal fire escape.  On the ground, he kept to the black edges of an already dark alley, slowly making his way towards where Leo said he’d be.

            It was totally silent.  Whatever Leo thought he’d heard had to be gone.  Mikey hadn’t spotted Leo yet and knew he wouldn’t until Leo chose to show himself.  What Mikey did see was that the alley he was in was a dead end and no one else was in it.

            A hand shot out of a narrow opening between two buildings and caught Mikey’s arm, yanking him into the stygian gloom.  Before he could react, Mikey’s carapace slammed against a wall and the solid weight of another body pressed against his.

            The hand that covered his mouth was three-fingered.

            “Shh,” Leo whispered against his head.  “Foot patrol; stay quiet.”

            Mikey’s nod made Leo slowly lift his hand away.  The space they were in was barely wide enough for the two of them and only a few feet long.  Forced up against each other, the pair waited in ominous silence.

            Minutes passed and the tension increased.  Mikey still hadn’t heard anything, but he trusted Leo’s instincts.  He also found his big brother’s closeness to be very reassuring; Mikey could even feel Leo’s heart beating against his plastron and it was somehow comforting.

            Leonardo was almost four inches shorter than Mikey and his breath ghosted over Mikey’s neck as they waited.  Mikey had touched his brothers a lot during their lifetime; they had slept together as kids, bathed together, and in practice there was constant physical contact.

            All of that interaction was brief; even the occasional hug they shared lasted no more than a minute.  For the first time in his life, Mikey noticed how warm and solid Leo was.  He respected his oldest brother immensely; to Mikey’s eyes Leo was the perfect ninja.

            Now Mikey understood how _safe_ Leonardo made him feel.  He felt safe with all of his brothers, but in a life or death situation, Mikey preferred to have Leo around.

            Mikey had a minor epiphany at that moment; he suddenly knew he felt safest with Leo because his big brother always knew what to do.

            Finally Leo’s hand came up to grip Mikey’s bicep.  Leaning against Mikey, Leo’s face once more hovered a scant inch from Mikey’s own.

            “I’m going to check and see if they’ve gone.  Stay here,” Leo told him.

            Mikey grabbed Leo’s wrist before his brother could move.  “Hey, you said not to engage the enemy, remember?  You aren’t going alone,” Mikey hissed quietly.

            Leo squeezed Mikey’s arm.  “There is less chance of being seen if I go alone.  I’m only going to look, okay Mikey?  Just don’t leave this spot.”

            Mikey’s eyes were wide with worry, but he released Leo’s wrist.  A second later Leo vanished, leaving Mikey by himself.

            Five minutes was all the time he’d give his brother.  If Leo wasn’t back in five minutes, order or no order, Mikey was going after him.

            The wind had changed direction and was blowing tiny whirlwinds into the alley.  It was cooler air and Mikey rubbed his arms to dispel the chill.  He remembered how warm Leo felt and wished his brother would hurry back.

            Almost like a wish fulfillment, Leo appeared out of what seemed to be nowhere.  Mikey had no idea how his brother could always manage that trick.

            “They’re gone,” Leo told him, moving close so he could keep his voice down.  “Time’s almost up anyway; let’s head back to the rendezvous point. Could you call Don and Raph please?  We need to give them a head’s up about the Foot patrol.”

            Mikey’s shell cell was already out as he followed Leo onto the fire escape.  Keeping his eyes on Leo just in case the older brother spotted something else, Mikey punched in the number for Don’s phone.

            Tonight’s patrol was done; the four of them would run the sewers together for an hour or so to burn off excess energy and then head home.

            Leo hadn’t brought up the subject of sex at all, not even as a hint.  That fact left the youngest brother slightly bewildered.

=======================================

            Stopping a couple of thugs from breaking into a car was about the only excitement Raphael and Donatello managed to round up during their patrol.  The area was supposed to be high crime, but the bad guys all seemed to be on vacation.

            “I wish we could find enough action ta at least get my blood pumping,” Raph complained as they jumped to another rooftop.

            “I’ll bet Leo is happy that tonight is quiet,” Don said softly.

            Raph shot a look at him and grinned.  “Oh, ‘cause he’s gonna proposition Mikey and he ain’t gonna want ta be interrupted.  Ya’ know, if Leo ends up screwing Mikey first I’m gonna be real pissed.”

            “Crude but to the point,” Don said.  “I’m not sure Leo is going to get through to our brother though.”

            Don wore the concentrated look he sometimes got when digging at a deep problem.  Raph wasn’t sure what had caught his interest, but the best way to find out was to ask.

            “Ya’ wanna elaborate on that, bro’?” Raph asked.

            They slowed down to a walk.  “I don’t know what Leo can do that we haven’t already tried and Mikey wasn’t interested.  In fact, he seemed _sickened_ by the entire subject of sex.  Not just sex with us, but sex in general.”

            “And that means . . . ?” Raph urged, wanting Don to continue.

            Don shrugged.  “Well, maybe Mikey is asexual.”

            “English brainiac,” Raph said.

            “Mikey doesn’t have an interest in or desire for sex.  You heard him in the dojo, he said your suggestions were gross and later he told me that he thought sex was disgusting,” Don explained.  “Although I agree with his assessment of your lewd comments, I find his observations on the subject to be illuminating.”

            “No desire for sex?  Ya’ sure he’s our brother?” Raph quipped.

            Don rolled his eyes at Raph.  “The point is that if Mikey truly is asexual, we’re fighting a lost cause.”

            “I guess that means Leo ain’t gonna get with Mikey,” Raph said with a laugh.  “I got another shot.”

            “You don’t know when to quit do you?” Don asked in amazement.

            “I’ll quit when Leo does,” Raph told him.  “I just need ta modify my approach is all; if I can’t get Mikey, Leo sure as shell can’t.”

            “Real~ly,” Don drawled.  “Well mister macho, how did Leo get you?”

            Before Raph could snap out a retort, Don’s shell cell buzzed.

            “I’m here Mikey.  What’s up?” Don asked.

            _“Be on the lookout dude.  Leo spotted a Foot patrol.  We lost them and they weren’t headed your direction, but better safe than sorry,”_ Mikey said.

            “Should we head back to the rendezvous point now?”  Don had stopped walking and now he pointed at his eyes and then out towards the rooftops, letting Raph know to keep watch.

            _“Yep.  We’re on our way,”_ Mikey said.

            “Foot?” Raph asked as Don pushed his shell cell back into his belt.

            Don nodded.  “He and Leo ducked them.  It’s time to pack it in for the night.”

            Raph chuckled.  “After all that clever maneuvering, I guess Leo didn’t get his shot at Mikey.”

=======================================

            Leo and Mikey reached the old hotel building first.  A north wind had kicked up and after several minutes of inactivity it had gotten downright cold.

            Mikey tried jumping in place but that got old fast.  Leo was standing completely still as he surveyed their surroundings and gave no indication that the chill air was affecting him.

            “Dude, aren’t you cold?” Mikey asked.

            Leo turned to look at his little brother and his eyes softened.  “Let’s go stand behind the storage shed, it’ll block the wind,” Leo said.

            Mikey found that to be a great idea and wasted no time doing as Leo suggested.  Standing in the shadows, Mikey crossed his arms over his plastron and tried to hold in some body heat.

            Stepping close to his younger brother, Leo began to vigorously rub Mikey’s arms.

            “You always did feel the cold more than the rest of us,” Leo said.

            “I don’t like cold,” Mikey complained.  “I think we should all move to a tropical island with white sand beaches.”

            “Where you wouldn’t get cable, internet, comics or pizza,” Leo said with a laugh.

            “Okay, strike that,” Mikey said.  “Maybe I can patrol in my cape.”

            Leo smiled and shook his head.  “No.”

            “Thanks for being so open to the idea,” Mikey told him sarcastically.

            His older brother didn’t answer but the small smile stayed on his face.  His hands moved on Mikey’s upper arms and occasionally across the younger turtles broad shoulders, the friction generating welcome warmth.

            Mikey was content with the silence and the contact as they waited.  This was exactly what he’d been thinking about earlier; how Leo always seemed to know what to do.  It was also kind of nice that Leo didn’t appear to mind helping Mikey stay warm.

            The contented look on Mikey’s face reminded Leo a little of how Klunk looked when someone stroked his fur.  Petting Mikey was Leo’s bonus for the night; he’d already done what he set out to do.

            It had taken Leo a couple of nights to find the perfect setting for his false Foot sighting.  Pulling Mikey into that tiny space had forced the two brothers into close physical contact, the kind with a completely innocent appearance.

            Mikey wasn’t used to anyone coming into his personal space in the way Leo had and under any other circumstance would have shied away.  The scenario that Leo had created had given Mikey something else to focus on while Leo took the opportunity to get his younger brother used to being touched.

            The feeling of Mikey’s own personal electricity had sent a current of desire flaring into Leo’s body and had strengthened his resolve.  Mikey was a worthy prize and Leo was determined to do everything in his power to claim him.

            Tonight had been a baby step toward that goal but it was enough.  Leo had snuck through Mikey’s barriers and destroyed some of his defenses.  As a ninja, this was the type of fight he was most adept at and Leo was relishing every minute.

            As Leo’s hands slid across Mikey’s skin he carefully formulated his next step.  Raph and Don would not give up so easily; they would continue to pursue Mikey as well.

            And that was just fine with Leo.  In fact, he needed for them to keep chasing Mikey.

TBC……………….


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,361  
> Rated: PG-13

            Mikey sat on the dojo floor with a pile of arrow shafts to one side of him.  On the small table in front of him were vanes, jigs, adhesive and other supplies needed for fletching his arrows.

            This was a job he liked doing; it kept his hands busy and his mind free to daydream.  The bow and arrow was his long range weapon of choice and of the four brothers, Mikey was the best shot, with Raph coming a close second.

            Today while he worked, Mikey watched his brother Leo practice with his swords.  Leo spent hours every day with those bladed weapons in his hands.  Sometimes he did weapons katas, other times he practiced striking targets, and often he simply ran through past battles.

            That was what Leo was doing this afternoon.  As he moved through one of the fights that he had pulled up from his flawless memory, Leo kept his eyes closed, seeing the battle in his mind.

            Watching Leo practice this way was another thing that Michelangelo liked.  Despite the bulkiness of a body structure that included a solid shell, the eldest still managed to move with complete fluidity.

            Their fighting styles were very different; where Mikey’s moves were big, bold and loud, Leo’s were refined, polished and silent.  In Mikey’s mind, they sort of balanced each other out.  When Mikey thought about teamwork, that’s what came to his mind.

            Sitting in the dojo with Leo only a few feet away was also very soothing to Mikey’s jangled nerves.  All through breakfast and morning practice he could feel the tension rolling off of Don and Raph.  They didn’t say anything, but he could see behind their eyes when they looked at him and their desire was still prominent.

            He was also perceptive enough to catch and understand the glances they passed to one another.  The attempts to get past his barriers weren’t going to stop; he could tell that much from the things he was seeing.

            Last night when they’d gotten home from their patrol, Mikey had watched Raph follow Don into the latter’s room.  Neither of them made any attempt to hide it from him now that the cat was out of the bag.  As Raph was stepping inside, he turned a smugly satisfied look on Mikey and then winked.

            He was gone before he saw the look of disdain that curled Mikey’s upper lip.

            Leo on the other hand had shown absolutely no sexual interest in Mikey.  Mikey knew he was active with both Raph and Don, but apparently he was content with that situation and didn’t need more.  Or he had seen his other brothers attempting to push their advances on the youngest and had gotten the message that neither of the other two seemed to have received.  Either way, Mikey was grateful that he had one brother around whom he could still feel completely relaxed.

            Leo was not only content, but a little pleased with himself at how the day seemed to be working out.  Mikey was still on edge around the other two siblings and they weren’t helping his attitude with their overt displays of sexuality.

            The evening before, Raph had purposely waited until he knew Mikey was looking before making it very clear that Don and he were spending the night together.  At breakfast that morning, Raph had tweaked Don’s tail right in front of Mikey’s face.  If the red banded turtle was trying to make physical intimacy seem more appealing with those outlandish displays, he was failing miserably.

            Don wasn’t helping further his cause either; his blushes and demure demeanor suited his own personality, but not Mikey’s.  The youngest was in no way a shrinking violet and the idea that someone might expect such behavior from him in the bedroom was obviously distasteful.

            Having Mikey sitting just a short distance from him, seemingly very happy to be somewhere ‘safe’, suited Leo’s plans perfectly.  Winning a fight didn’t always mean leaping into it feet first; the steady, stealthy approach was usually the most victorious, something he’d tried to make Raph understand on numerous occasions.

            This was a perfect opportunity for Leo to show Raph exactly what he meant.

            Leo was enough of a realist to know that the possibility of defeat for all of them was still part of the equation.  Mikey was a lot of things, but completely predictable wasn’t one of them.  That was part of his allure and part of his mystique.  It had always kept their Father on his toes and Mikey’s capriciousness was one of the reasons he frequently bested Raph in a fight.

            If there was an ‘on’ switch to Mikey’s sexuality, Leo hoped to be the one to activate it.  If not, then Leo would accept Mikey’s decision and the eldest would ensure the others did as well.  Leo was not about to allow a desire for Michelangelo to destroy their family or become injurious to Mikey.

            When Leo finished practicing he sheathed his swords and walked over to where Mikey sat.  His younger brother had fletched a large number of arrows and still had a sizeable stack to work through.

            Squatting down, Leo picked up one of the finished arrows and contemplated Mikey’s handiwork.

            “No feathers, Mikey?” Leo asked.

            Mikey glanced up.  “Nah.  The vanes are easier to work with and a shell of a lot easier to line up correctly.  They last longer too.”

            “I’ll take your word for that since this is your area of expertise,” Leo said, setting the arrow aside.  “I’m going to take a nice, hot shower.”

            Leo stood up and Mikey’s eyes followed him.  “Um, Leo, everything’s cool with us right?”

            His brow furrowed, Leo said, “Of course it is.  Why wouldn’t it be?”

            Mikey shook his head, feeling foolish.  He kept expecting Leo to make a ‘pass’ at him and his oldest brother wasn’t giving any indication that he was even considering it.  Mikey wasn’t as impatient as Raph, but waiting around for things to happen wasn’t really one of Mikey’s strengths either.

            He had come very close to asking Leo why he hadn’t brought up the subject of sex yet.  As if he didn’t have enough trouble with Raph and Don.  Better to leave sleeping dogs lie, as the saying went.

            Mikey covered his slip with a grin.  “I thought you might be kinda ticked off not to be able to kick some Foot butt last night.  You know, ‘cause you were paired off with me and not Raph.”

            Leo kneeled down and stopped the movement of one of Mikey’s hands by setting his on top of it.

            “Mikey, I said at the beginning of the night that I didn’t want to engage the Foot if we ran across them and I meant it,” Leo said.  “Not having to argue with you over my decisions is one of the reasons I like patrolling with you; another is that I know if a fight does come our way, you can hold your own and I needn’t worry about you.  Okay?”

            “Okay,” Mikey acknowledged.  “Thanks for saying that, Leo.”

            Leo smiled and tapped the back of Mikey’s hand lightly before getting up and leaving the dojo.

            Standing beneath of spray of hot water, Leo thought about the conversation he’d just had with Mikey.  He was sure that Mikey had meant to say something completely different but had changed his mind at the last minute.

            Leo was glad Mikey had backed off because the eldest wasn’t ready to have that discussion yet.  Lying to Mikey about the Foot’s whereabouts and lying to him about having a sexual interest in the youngest brother were two entirely different things.  Leo was not going to lie to him about that if Mikey asked a direct question.  He would just have to rely on skill and luck to keep Mikey from asking that question.

            Mikey spent another hour working on arrows and then put everything away.  Stretching the numbness out of his legs, he strolled into the television room and was happy to see that it was empty.

            Hopping onto the couch, he grabbed the remote and hit the power button.  The TV array sprang to life, but the only thing on the various screens was snow.

            That happened from time to time; although the array was hooked into an elaborate power surge protector it sometimes still took a hit from an electrical spike.  Nothing was damaged; it just needed to be reprogrammed.  Mikey kept meaning to get Donny to show him how to do that, but he always got bored partway through the lesson.

            With a groan, Mikey went in search of his smart brother.  Knowing that Don spent most of his free time in his lab, that’s were Mikey looked first.  And that’s where he found him.

            “Hey, Don,” Mikey called from the doorway.

            Don twisted around in his chair and his eyes caught the remote control in Mikey’s hand.

            “What did you break?” Don asked.

            “That’s unfair,” Mikey huffed.  “Raph breaks just as much stuff as I do.”

            “Then you’ll be happy to know I ask him the exact same question,” Don retorted.

            Mikey held the remote up.  “It was another power spike.  Can you reprogram this for me?”

            “Let me close this file and I’ll take care of it,” Don turned back to his computer and his fingers rapidly stroked the keyboard.

            When he was done, he got up and followed Mikey back to the television room, accepting the remote from Mikey as they walked.

            As Don ran through the set-up program he said, “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions, Mikey.”

            Mikey shrugged.  “Don’t worry about it.  Most of the time I come to you because I did break something.”

            Don laughed lightly.  Punching in the correct selections, Don glanced at his brother and saw that Mikey was in a fairly mellow mood.

            “I’ve been hoping to get a chance to talk to you alone,” Don said.

            “’Bout what?” Mikey asked, although he knew quite well what the answer was.

            “About the special relationship that Leo, Raph and I have now,” Don said, determined to use soft and alluring terms to bypass Mikey’s current mindset on the subject.

            “Oh,” Mikey said, “sex again.  I guess it’s true that once a guy starts having it his IQ drops straight into his dick.”

            “That’s as unfair as my jumping to the conclusion that you’d broken something,” Don protested.

            “I just admitted you were mostly right though, didn’t I?” Mikey shot back.

            Don gaped at him.  “How can you know you’re right about this if you won’t even entertain the idea of giving it a try?”

            “We aren’t talking about broccoli, Don,” Mikey said.  “This isn’t something you taste and then spit back out.  Look, I know you guys are enjoying yourselves but I’m not interested in hearing anymore about it.  Just because I know what you do doesn’t mean I want all the sordid details and you dropping hints that I should be a part of it makes my skin crawl.”

            “Mikey, I bring this up because I don’t want you to be left out,” Don said.

            “Some things I don’t mind being left out of,” Mikey told him.  “Going to look for giant, mutated bugs, searching for underground monsters, and sex are all things you guys can leave me the shell out of and all you’ll get from me is a big, fat thank you.”

            Somehow Mikey had turned the tables on him again, but Don wasn’t about to give up yet.

            “I can understand your qualms, but what I’m talking about is a loving, physical relationship,” Don said.

            “A hug is a loving, physical relationship too, Don,” Mikey said flatly.  “You want one of those from me, no problem.  Could we return to the matter at hand now?”

            Becoming slightly exasperated, Don tossed the remote on the couch and faced Mikey.

            “Is it too much to ask that you think of me as something more than mister fix-it?” Don asked.  “All I would like is for you to be more open minded and let me explain how being intimate with someone feels, Mikey.  Or let me show you; we’ll go slow and only do what you feel comfortable with.”

            So there it was, thrown right out between them and Mikey could think of only one thing that would make Don put the genie back into the bottle.  Guilt.

            Looking pointedly at the remote and then back at Don, Mikey said, “So does that mean you won’t fix stuff for me anymore unless I have sex with you?”

            Don’s mouth dropped open and if it was possible for it to have become detached it would have hit the floor.  After a second it snapped shut with a loud pop.

            “N . . . no!” Don all but shouted.  “I’m . . . not  . . . I didn’t mean . . . .”

            “That’s why I don’t like this sex stuff, Don,” Mikey said.  “It’s really messing up our family.  Now you guys are using it to get stuff from each other and I don’t wanna live like that.  I guess I’ll go read my comic books instead of watching TV.  At least they don’t have any strings attached to them.”

            Don’s eyes were wide as he watched Mikey leave.  There were so many things he’d wanted to say but somehow in a few sentences Mikey had built a dam against his words that was better than any beaver’s.

            Leo slid down the corridor and ducked into his room as soon as Mikey started to mount the stairs.  He had observed the entire conversation between Don and Mikey, but did not want Mikey to know that.

            He had to hand it to his little brother; he certainly had slammed Donatello down hard.  Leo chuckled at just how adroitly Michelangelo had handled that situation.

            Staying out of the fray and leaving the other two to their own devices when dealing with Mikey was working out perfectly.  The fatal flaw that Don and Raph had succumbed to was in underestimating Mikey.

            Leo knew better than to ever do that.

TBC………………….


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 1,403  
> Rated: R

            A loud thud from Don’s lab caught Raph’s attention as he was walking past.  The door was not quite shut, so Raph peeked inside to make sure the genius hadn’t blown himself up.

            Papers were scattered all over the floor along with several of Don’s precious books.  Don was sitting in his chair, arms on his legs with his hands dangling between them, and his head down.

            Raph wasn’t the most adept at reading the nuances of body language, but he knew Donatello.

            Stepping inside, he silently closed the door and said, “Hey Don.  What’s up bro’?”

            Don glanced up, his face a picture of abject misery.  That look had Raph moving across the room in a split second.  He yanked a stool over in front of Don and sat down.

            When Don didn’t answer, Raph placed a finger under his chin and tilted Don’s head up enough so that their eyes could meet.

            “Talk ta me, Donny.  Ya’ know I won’t leave until ya’ do,” Raph said softly.

            Don sighed.  “I blew it.”  Three words out, and then he closed his mouth again.

            “Blew what?” Raph asked patiently.

            Raph could see that his brother was gravely upset about something.  Not the kind of agitation from some failed experiment, but a truly deeper emotion.  Don rarely became depressed; it wasn’t his nature to react emotionally to very many things.  Whatever had gotten to him this time was serious.

            Serious enough that Raph was going to have to pull it out of him piece by piece just to get to the root of the problem.

            “I should have thought this through better,” Don said, trying to lift his chin away from Raph’s finger.

            Raph curled the tip of his finger to hold Don’s head still.  Don countered by shifting his eyes away from his brother’s.

            “Look at me, Don,” Raph said gently.  “I want ta help, even if it’s some genius level thing I probably won’t understand, I can still be a good sounding board.  Isn’t that what we agreed?  None of us doing things alone?”

            “It’s Mikey,” Don finally blurted out.

            “What about Mikey?” Raph wanted to know, holding back the urge to say something sarcastic about their younger brother.

            “I tried talking to him again,” Don said.  He let out a long, forlorn sigh.  “I got pretty much the same results.”

            Raph snorted.  “So big deal.  Mikey ain’t as open as we’d like him ta be.  Ya’ said yourself maybe he just ain’t interested in sex.”

            “You don’t understand,” Don said, his voice almost plaintive.

            Wrenching his chin away from Raph’s finger, Don sat back and rubbed his hand across his mouth.  Raph settled his palms on Don’s knees and leaned towards him.

            “What don’t I understand?  Explain it ta me so I will, Donny.  Ya’ know I don’t like seeing ya’ this upset,” Raph urged.

            “What if we’re wrong?  He’s so adamant about the idea that what we are doing is repulsive that I’m beginning to think we shouldn’t have started this in the first place,” Don said.

            Raph went still and cold inside.  With carefully measured, precise words, he said, “Tell me exactly what you’re talkin’ about, Don.  Shouldn’t have started what?  This contest for Mikey?”

            Don’s eyes focused solidly on Raph’s.  “Not that.  Us.  The  . . . incest.  I’ve been looking at everything I can find on the subject; arguments about the morality, social taboos, the need for dominance by one sibling over the other, inequalities in the power struggle and I can’t  . . . I can’t find anything that supports the choice we made.”

            Raph reached a hand out towards Don’s face and his brother jerked away from him, eyes wide.

            “Dammit Don!  Just ‘cause Mikey ain’t interested in sex doesn’t mean that our loving each other is wrong.  All that shit you been reading is from the human world and that’s the difference.  _We_ made a choice, all of us.  Nobody forced anybody else ta do something they didn’t want ta do.  Nobody is forcing Mikey either,” Raph said emphatically.

            “But that’s just it, Raph.”  Don was vehement.  “Maybe he’s so uncomfortable with the concept because our having sex is making him _feel_ like he’s being forced to do this with us.  That would be wrong, that would make this thing we have wrong.”

            “It ain’t wrong,” Raph growled.  “I ain’t ever felt so complete in my whole life, Donny.  I mean, sex with Leo is thrilling and all, but it ain’t like when I’m with ya’.  Mikey just doesn’t understand that part of it yet.”

            Standing up quickly, Raph’s eyes narrowed and he glanced towards the door.  Don saw the determined expression that settled on his brother’s face and jumped up from his chair.

            “Raph  . . . .”

            Raph looked back at Don and his face softened.  “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna do anything crazy.”

            Don shook his head, unconvinced.  “I shouldn’t have said anything.  I should have simply ended this with you and Leo and let it fade like any other phase we’ve gone through.”

            “This ain’t a phase, Don, this is who we are.  I ain’t gonna let Mikey guilt trip ya’ into thinking otherwise, especially when that little mutt don’t know what he’s talking about.”

            He reached for Don’s arms, but Don stepped back quickly, nearly tripping on the chair that was behind him.

            “Please don’t, Raph,” Don murmured, his voice cracking just a bit.

            “This is why we should’ve included Mikey ta start with,” Raph said bitterly.  “I don’t think he’s nearly so innocent as he pretends ta be.  He knew exactly what buttons ta push ta mess with your head, didn’t he?”

            “It’s not that,” Don protested.  “He’s . . . Mikey is just making me think about this situation a little more.”

            “Thinking about something ain’t the same as threatening to end what we’ve got.  Thinking about something don’t include ya’ pulling away from me like my touch is acid ta your skin,” Raph said bitterly.

            “I’m not,” Don said.  “I think maybe taking a breather, putting some space between the three of us would give us a better perspective . . . .”

            Raph’s lunge took him by surprise.  Gripping Don’s biceps tightly, Raph pulled Don up against his plastron and pinned him in place with a fiery stare.

            “Ya’ think I’m ignorant, Donny?  I know what ‘taking a breather’ is code for.  There ain’t no way I’m going back to the lonely existence of wanting ya’ and banging my head against a wall ‘cause I can’t be with ya’.  You’re special ta me; ya’ always have been.”

            He pressed his mouth to Don’s.  Raph could feel the resistance against his lips, the normally pliant and giving softness unyielding.  Releasing his hold on one of Don’s arms, Raph snaked it around Don’s shoulder and grasped the back of his brother’s head.

            Holding Don firmly in place, Raph increased the pressure of his lips against Don’s.  Raph’s eyes were open and staring into the chocolate orbs that he loved so much, waiting.

            Then Don’s eyes flickered, the dark brown color deepening just as his eyes slid shut and his mouth opened.

            Raph’s tongue entered Don’s sweet mouth and met his brother’s.  They danced together in a coordinated rhythm, letting time slip past as they enjoyed each other.

            The kiss broke by mutual consent, though Don’s eyes remained closed.  Raph could tell his brother was still racked by doubts; but at least Don wasn’t trying to distance himself from Raph’s embrace.

            For now.  Let the situation with Michelangelo continue to fester and Don would be questioning things again.

            “If ya’ wanna give up on trying ta be with Mikey, I won’t hold that against ya’,” Raph whispered, his mouth hovering an inch above Don’s.  “Me, I think Mikey needs ta have his eyes opened a little.  Dodging and insulting us has worked for him so far, but that’s done.  He needs ta understand that what we have together, what the four of us could have together, is special.”

            Releasing Don suddenly, Raph strode towards the door.  Don’s voice made him pause.

            “Raph!  Wait, please.  We should talk about this,” Don insisted.  “What are you going to do?”

            Raph’s lip curved up, a gleam of intent shining in his golden eyes.  “I’m gonna go clarify a few things for Mikey.”

            Before Don could stop him, Raph was gone.

TBC……………….


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,174  
> Rated: R

            Two quick steps to the right and Mikey’s hand connected with the ball, sending it back against the side wall at an angle.

            He grinned when Leo had to pivot sharply left in order to return it after the first bounce.

            Playing handball against Leo was a much bigger challenge than playing against his other siblings.  For one thing, Leo was much faster than any of them.  His speed balanced out Michelangelo’s agility and made the game evenly matched.

            It wasn’t just Leo’s speed that made playing against him such a contest either.  Leo played games the same way he fought battles; his mind always three steps ahead as he read his opponent.  It took all of Mikey’s skill not to give away his strategy or else Leo would take immediate advantage of him.

            Much the same way that Mikey took advantage of Raph and Don during a game of handball.

            Raph was an aggressive player with absolutely no finesse.  He slapped the ball with all his strength and at the end of a match Mikey’s hands were always stinging and throbbing.  Raph would win his matches off of brute strength alone if Mikey didn’t make him miss the ball so frequently.

            Not that Mikey would ever break the rules by hindering an opponent.  There wasn’t anything in the rules about talking and Mikey could always throw Raph off his game by merely taunting the hot head.

            If Don were a little faster and as focused as Leo was, Mikey wasn’t sure he could be beaten.  Don was the best at shooting pool because he could visualize angles and trajectories and quickly calculate the force necessary to send a ball into a pocket.

            Don used that skill during a game of handball as well, but the difference was that in pool no one was shooting the balls back at you.

            It was during a game against Donny that Mikey discovered a really fun trick to play on his brothers.

            There was one spot in the lair that could be used as a handball court, although not the traditional four walled one.  They had a front wall and the two sides, but where the back wall would normally be located there was one of the channels that fed into the tide pool.

            Mikey found that he could throw Don’s game off completely by directing the speed of play.  Moving faster didn’t allow Donatello time to analyze and place his strikes; all he could do was rush to hit the ball.

            Rushing like that made him lose track of where he was on the court.  Mikey often forced him back with high hits and then when he was too far away, Mikey would hit the ball with a soft touch so that it bounced near the front wall.

            One day Mikey put a spin on the ball when he smacked it and it careened a bit to the side as it flew backwards towards Don.  Leaping to get to the ball before it could take a second bounce Don fell right into the water.

            When Don splashed and gurgled to the surface, Mikey felt a flash of satisfaction.  Mikey had sent the ball in that direction on purpose, not really expecting the gag to work.

            Of course to Don’s embarrassment, Mikey crowed about it long and loud.  What would be the point of tricking your brother the certified genius if you didn’t brag about it?

            The next time Mikey played handball against Raph, he decided to see if he could pull the same stunt on the hot head.

            It was harder with Raph because his style of play already required faster movements and a long ball.  Raph also had the advantage of stronger leg muscles, which meant he could leap further for the rebounding ball.

            The one thing Raph couldn’t compensate for was Mikey’s mouth.  During play Mikey kept up a constant barrage of speech, pointing out every flaw in Raph’s game.  Halfway through the match Raph’s face was nearly the color of his mask and he was growing careless.

            His carelessness cost him a cold bath.

            Dunking Raph was vastly enjoyable, even though it meant Mikey spent the rest of the day dodging his brother.  At dinner, Mikey didn’t bother taking a seat; he wasn’t going to be trapped in a chair with Raph still on the prowl.

            Since they were expecting Mikey to pull that same trick the next few times they played against him, he didn’t try anything.  It was laughable how poorly Raph and Don played when they were trying to stay watchful.

            When they finally let their guard down, he struck again.  It was too much of a temptation for Mikey to see if he could soak them a second time.  He got both of them.

            Mikey’s brothers were far too competitive to quit playing handball against him, especially since they hoped for a chance to pay him back.  The opportunities to send them stumbling into the pool lessened as they grew more wary, but Mikey still got them from time to time. 

            All except Leonardo.  Mikey had never, ever managed to maneuver Leo into the pool.

            The first time Mikey had tried Leo’s speed put him in front of the ball before it reached the pool.  Mikey had missed the return and when he looked back at his brother, Leo had smiled and lifted his eye ridges.

            Thereafter it became a part of every match that they played; Mikey trying to trick Leo into the pool, Leo anticipating Mikey’s attempts and countering with a ploy of his own.

            To date, neither the orange or blue banded brother had landed in the pool.

            Mikey lobbed a shot off the wall that had Leo dancing back to meet it.  The return strike sent the ball on a sharp jog sideways off the bricks and Mikey had to dive for it.  Hitting it from a forward roll, Mikey jumped quickly to his feet and watched Leo make an easy return.

            As Mikey stepped up to the approaching ball, he saw a flash of red out of his peripheral vision.  Turning swiftly, he missed the ball but managed to just dodge Raph’s charge.

            “What the shell are you doing?” Mikey demanded.

            “Ya’ and me are gonna have a few words, Mikey,” Raph said as he dove at his youngest brother.

            Mikey jumped away from his grasping hands.  “Not if this is how you’re planning to start the conversation,” he said.

            “Don tried the other kind,” Raph said.  “Now he’s locked himself in his lab and you,” he lunged and missed, “are going,” another dive and miss, “to fucking apologize.”

            “Since when is Don incapable of asking for his own apologies?” Mikey countered, still avoiding Raph’s clutches.

            “Since ya’ messed with his head!” Raph shouted, his hands curling into fists.  “I don’t know what ya’ said ta him exactly, but he’s fuckin’ confused and hurt.  Whatever ya’ pulled ya’ shouldn’t have done it ta Donny.  If I gotta tie ya’ up into a ball and roll your ass in there, you’re gonna tell him ya’ were wrong.”

            Mikey did a quick backflip to avoid his brother.  “I am not telling Don I was wrong.  I told him the truth and too bad if that bothered him.”

            Infuriated, Raph charged at him.  Tired of running, Mikey’s hands came up and he braced himself.

            A light touch on Mikey’s carapace made him blink and suddenly Leo was standing directly in front of him.

            _“That’s enough!”_ Leo snapped, the deeper tone of his leader’s voice resonating off of the walls.

            Raph ground to a halt, though his momentum carried him right up against Leo.  He glared at his older brother, but years of training made him hold his position, although his body was still twitching with anger.

            “I can stand up for myself, Leo,” Mikey said from between clenched teeth.

            “If this was one of your normal brawls then I’d let you and I’d walk away,” Leo told him without taking his eyes off of Raph.  “Since this looks to be a family fight, then it’s my duty to interfere.”

            “Ya’ don’t know what’s happening ta Donny,” Raph spluttered.  “That little shit  . . . he got Don so confused he don’t wanna fu . . . .”

            “Raph!” Leo said sharply, stopping Raph’s words.  Glancing over his shoulder, Leo told Mikey, “Please check on Master Splinter.”

            Mikey’s face flushed.  “I’m not two; you don’t need to send me out of the room while the adults talk.”

            “Raph is having a personal issue and he’s taking it out on you,” Leo explained calmly.  “Was your discussion with Donatello any of his business?”

            “No,” Mikey answered quickly.

            “Then he and I are going to talk about his response and the proper way to explore a family issue,” Leo said.  “A way that doesn’t involve immediately resorting to his fists.  Your presence simply lends tension to the situation.”

            Mikey glared at Raph before nodding to Leo and leaving the room.

            Raph half turned as Mikey walked by but Leo caught his arms in a solid grip.  His hold tightened when Raph stiffened his muscles and tried to jerk away, but Leo held fast until Mikey was gone.

            Whipping his head around, Raph hissed, “Mikey said something ta Donny that has him second guessing our commitment ta each other, Leo.  Don thinks that fucking us is wrong just ‘cause he believes Mikey feels like we’re trying ta force sex on him.”

            “Did either of you stop to think that Mike is manipulating you both?” Leo whispered in return, keeping his voice down in case Mikey was listening.  “Did you ever consider that Mikey knows you well enough to know what to say and when to say it so that you’d leave him alone?”

            “That’s an even better reason ta give him a beat down,” Raph snarled.  “He told Don that shit on purpose ta upset him.”

            “Mikey has a right to say what he thinks just as much as the rest of us do,” Leo said.  “I’ll talk to Don and set his mind at ease.  You will not start pounding on Mikey if for no other reason than I doubt if he’ll consider that foreplay.”

            Raph’s grin was wicked.  “Oh, I ain’t gonna pound _on_ him.  I’m gonna shove that little shit onto his face and pound _into_ him.  What Mikey needs is a good dicking to set his mind right.”

            “Since I know you aren’t seriously thinking about raping your brother, I won’t get angry over that idiotic statement,” Leo said sharply.

            “How do ya’ know he wouldn’t like it?” Raph asked.  “Maybe he’s just waiting for one of us ta take the initiative.”

            Leo stared at him, cold amber eyes against fiery gold.  “Remember our rule, Raphael?” Leo asked with cool deliberation.  “We will do nothing to ever endanger the unity of our team and that includes sex.  If this becomes an issue, if _you_ turn it into an issue, I’ll end it.  Do you understand what I’m saying?”

            “Ya’ can’t make me give up Donny,” Raph said stubbornly.

            “Don follows my orders, Raph.  He always has and he always will.  You can be as angry as you want, but that is a basic fact.  You behave rashly with Michelangelo, you lose Donatello.  Now answer me; have I made myself clear?” Leo asked.

            Raph could almost feel flames licking at the inside of his skull, but cold reason wrapped itself around his heart.  He knew damn well that Leo didn’t make idle threats.

            His lips set in a firm line, Raph nodded tersely.

            Leo lifted his hands from Raph’s arms and said, “That’s not good enough.  Say it.”

            “Goddam you, Leo,” Raph rasped, his vocal cords tense with rebellion.

            “What was that?” Leo asked, his voice dropping an octave.

            “Yes it’s fucking clear.”  Raph bit at each word as it left his mouth.

            “Good.”  Leo stepped back.  “I’m going to talk to Don.  Stay away from Mikey until you cool off.”

            Raph marched away from Leo, his shoulders squared and the line of every muscle in his body denoting his anger.  Waiting a moment, Leo followed and watched his hot headed brother turn into the dojo, where he would no doubt vent his frustrations on his punching bag.

            Leo counted to ten and then turned around to find Mikey standing nearby.

            “Do you want to talk to me now?” Mikey asked.

            Since Leo had to know what had precipitated Raph’s furious assault, Mikey fully expected that now his oldest brother would bring up the subject that had the other two flying around Mikey like honey bees.

            “Yes,” Leo said.  “Stay away from Raph for the rest of the afternoon.  He and Don had a misunderstanding and I’m going to talk to Don about it.”

            Walking past a slightly stunned Mikey, Leo paused to rest his hand on his little brother’s shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze.  In a few seconds, Leo had disappeared into Donatello’s lab.

TBC…………….


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 3,314  
> Rated: NC-17 - graphic TCest

            Don lay pressed against Leo’s side, his breathing deep and regular.

            It had taken a fair amount of effort to get Don on his shell.  Raph had been right; Mikey’s words had done a number on the gentle and intellectual Donatello.

            Since Leo had no idea what to expect when he went in search of Don, he relied on a couple of basic military tactics; reconnoiter and assessment.

            Leo found his brother in the lab; Don’s safe haven.  The door wasn’t quite closed and Leo grabbed the edge, pushing it a bit wider so he could peer inside.

            The first thing Leo noticed was that the floor was covered in papers and books.  As his eyes travelled further, he saw Don sitting on the floor, staring at some of the scattered paperwork.

            “Don,” Leo said softly, easing through the opening and shutting the door behind him.

            Don looked up and Leo was startled by his brother’s wide, fearful gaze.

            “What did he do?” Don demanded quickly, his voice breaking slightly.

            Leo knelt and began gathering up the books.  “It’s okay, Donny.  I stopped Raph from doing anything rash.  He’s just very agitated about you.”

            “It was because I told him I thought we might have made a poor decision in getting physically involved with each other, wasn’t it?” Don asked.

            Leo set the books aside and looked directly into Don’s eyes.  “Raph is a very physical person, so yes, that was part of his worry.  He needs what we have; he needs the intensity, the heat, and the joy of being so close to us.  We haven’t anything except each other, nor do we have the potential of acquiring anything more and he knows that as well as you and I.”

            “Then that puts our sex into the category of an act of desperation,” Don said sadly.  “All we’re doing is satisfying primal urges just like Mikey said.”

            “Primal urges are still basic needs, Don.  Every living organism has them.  The higher forms give it a fancy name and tie a bow around it, but the act is the same for all of us,” Leo said.

            Don shook his head.  “It’s not the same because we’ve chosen to perform that act with each other.  We’re brothers.”

            “And just who exactly decided that it was wrong for us to love each other that way?” Leo argued.  “Tell me about this omnipotent being who pronounces that we should be damned to a life without the comfort of physical closeness.  Explain the logic behind the hand that set in motion our creation and then decided we should live together yet isolated from one another.”

            “You know I can’t do that; I don’t even understand why we exist,” Don protested.

            “And you may never have that answer,” Leo said.  “Suffice it to say that we do and there are only four of our kind.  We were raised as brothers so that we could be family.  We were raised as ninjas so that we could adapt.  We learned to be a team so that we could survive.  Now we are learning to strip away the last of the barriers between us so that we can _live_.”

            Don’s hands clenched on his thighs and a tremor swept over is body.  “But Mikey doesn’t seem to need this.”

            Leo smiled softly.  “You don’t know that yet, and neither does he.  Mikey is reacting to something he doesn’t understand in the only way he knows how.  All of us have different ways of collecting data, processing it, and then making a decision.  That’s all you, Raph and I have done; we’ve simply made a decision about adding another dimension to our existence.”

            “But incest . . . .” Don began.

            “Is just a word,” Leo finished for him.  “It needn’t have negative connotations for us; we don’t fall into any of the categories applied to that term.”

            Leo moved closer to Don and put his hands on top of his brother’s fists.  Don made as if to pull away, but Leo held on, pinning his brother with his eyes.

            “I don’t want to use sex as a tool or a weapon, Leo,” Don said.  “Mikey implied that we wouldn’t treat him the same if he didn’t have sex with us.  We can’t do that to each other; that is exactly the kind of power play that makes the act non-consensual and wrong.”

            “Did Raph force you to have sex with him your first time?” Leo asked.

            Surprised by the question, Don answered, “No, of course not.”

            “Tell me what happened,” Leo said.

            Don squirmed uncomfortably but Leo’s gaze never faltered.  Leo’s voice had a determined timbre to it and Don wasn’t going to put him off.

            “He seduced me,” Don said and then a tiny hint of color tinged his neck, embarrassed at how he’d begun the story.

            “I’ve never heard either of you talk about it,” Leo said.  “It must have been special.”

            Despite how he was feeling, Don’s lips curved into a small smile as he recalled the event.

            “Raph said something was wrong with his bike and asked if I could come to the garage to look at it.  You guys had gone with Master Splinter to survey one of the collapsed tunnels so we were by ourselves,” Don said and then laughed.  “Of course I went with him; for his sake I could never allow the cycle to be in anything but top condition.”

            “You built it for him,” Leo murmured, careful not to break the spell of that memory.

            Don’s eyes shone.  “I knew he would love it.”

            He paused for a moment, lost in thought until Leo gently urged him to continue.

            “When the elevator doors opened I heard music; Raph had swiped my iPod and the speaker dock so I could hear my favorite songs.  The back of the truck was open and a big bucket was sitting inside filled with ice, beer and that strawberry daiquiri stuff that I prefer,” Don said.

            “Raph did that?” Leo asked, surprised.

            Don nodded, pleased at the look on Leo’s face.  “He did.  He confessed then that there wasn’t anything wrong with the bike; he just used that as a ruse to get me to the garage.  Raph said it was ‘neutral territory’; the lab was my domain and the dojo was more his so the garage was the logical middle ground for the both of us.  He even used the word ‘logical’.”

            “When did you realize his intent?” Leo wanted to know.

            “Oh, the iced beverages clued me in right away,” Don said with a chuckle.  “I knew that you and he had become intimate and I figured out that he wanted to gauge my interest as well.  He said he just wanted to talk, so we sat on the back of the truck, drank our alcohol, and talked.”

            “About what?” Leo asked, curious.  He’d never had a protracted conversation with Raphael; short talks about the topic of the moment yes, but never anything that rambled.

            Don shrugged.  “Everything.  Anything.  Whatever came into our heads we talked about it.  Talked and laughed, drank a little and laughed some more.  We just did that for almost two hours.”

            Leo nodded, completely fascinated with this view of his normally hot headed brother.

            Don continued, “I was starting to feel a little tipsy and wound up telling him some things I’d been hiding.  Like how I felt about him.  I meant to keep it to myself because I thought the two of you were . . . were exclusive.  Raph looked at me a little strangely then and just leaned over and kissed me.  He was so gentle but  . . . but still so _strong_.

            “My head said I should stop him because I didn’t want to cause trouble between you two, but my heart and body wouldn’t listen.  Afterwards he explained that for the two of you sex was an emotional release; a way to overcome intense negative energy so that instead of fighting you could work towards understanding each other.

            “Raph even told me that you and he had talked about trying to determine if I would like to join you.  That’s when I realized that the alcohol wasn’t there to loosen me up; it was there so that Raph could get up the nerve to approach me.  I also realized that my consent was more important to him than just another physical outlet.  He wanted me in what I could only hope was the same way that I had wanted him.   We wound up in my room for the rest of the night.”

            Leo had started smiling towards the end of Don’s story and now he asked, “What would ever possess you to second guess something like that?  A few words from Mikey who is a master at manipulating your strongly developed sense of guilt?”

            Don’s head jerked up as he came back to reality.  “But he . . . I thought that . . . he is so disgusted  . . . .” Don spluttered.

            Leo curved his fingers beneath Don’s clenched fists and lifted them, pulling his brother’s hands up against his chest.

            “You don’t know that Mikey is disgusted by us, Don,” Leo said.  “If he were, he would have said something a long time ago instead of behaving as though he didn’t know what was going on.  Mikey is disgusted by the approach; Raph’s barbarous display brought out a stubborn streak in him.  That meant he wasn’t open to anything having to do with sex and any straight forward attempt was going to meet with the same level of failure.”

            “Then it’s all right for us to be . . . intimate?” Don asked, hope bright in his dark eyes.

            “Yes,” Leo answered simply, leaning forward so that he could press a kiss to Don’s mouth.

            The kiss was light and Leo tipped back slightly to break it.  Instead of moving, he hovered there, his face inches from Don’s as he looked into Don’s eyes.

            This time Don moved forward and captured Leo’s lips.  His hands fluttered out of Leo’s grip and moved upwards until they were firmly holding Leo’s shoulders.  A sound moved in Don’s throat; low and soft it was close to a moan as he released his earlier anxiety.

            Clutching frantically at Leo, Don opened his mouth against his brother’s, pushing Leo’s lips apart.  Leo came up on his knees and leaned over Don, his arms circling around to hold Don’s carapace in a tight grip.

            Don’s tongue pushed into Leo’s mouth, sweeping around desperately in search of Leo’s tongue.  Leo met him, giving Don the forceful kiss he knew his brother needed.

            When Don’s mouth separated from his, Leo asked, “What do you want, Don?  Tell me from your heart, not your mind, and not from all these books.  None of them have anything to do with us.”

            Breathing heavily, Don whispered, “I want us.  I want exactly what we have.  I want to hold on to the feeling of you and Raph close to me when I need you.  I want to hold on to the feeling of you guys inside of me when I need you.  Like now, right now, Leo.  _Please_.”

            Leo nodded and rose to his feet, pulling Don up with him.  Don grabbed Leo’s arm in a solid grip as though afraid something would yank his brother away from him.  Turning to a darkened corner of his lab, Don led his brother to the daybed that he often slept on.

            His eyes on Leo’s face, Don quickly removed his belt and then lay back on the bed, his legs spreading invitingly.  Leo’s heart began to hammer in his chest, the sight of his brother splayed out so wantonly made his blood boil and his cock harden.

            Leo’s belt came off and that was all he bothered to remove.  Like Don, he was unconcerned about anything other than this sudden intense need.

            Moving quickly into place between Don’s legs, Leo lay on top of his brother and pressed another kiss to his mouth, this one more frantic than before.  Don’s fingers scraped across Leo’s sides and over his hips before curving around Leo’s buttocks.  With all of his strength, Don pulled Leo closer to him, wiggling his hips in order to rub his lower plastron against his brother.

            Leo was breathing hard as his erection pushed out into the open.  He could feel Don’s hard cock beneath him; his brother was writhing against Leo as he desperately searched for friction.

            “Lube, Donny,” Leo husked into Don’s ear.

            “Oh gods, too long,” Don moaned.  “Takes too long.  Just take me Leo, I don’t care.  I need this now.”

            Leo lifted his head and closed his eyes, fighting his own body’s urgent call and the almost overwhelming desire to just do as Don asked.

            “No,” Leo whispered.  “I won’t hurt you that way.  Hold on, okay?”

            “Shell!” Don groaned.  “Under the mattress.”  Relinquishing his grip on one of Leo’s ass cheeks, Don pointed to the edge of the bed.

            Leo dug underneath the mattress where Don had indicated and came up with a bottle of lubricant.  Flipping the top open, he coated a finger, dripping some lube onto Don’s plastron.  Leo had to wriggle free of Don’s hold so that he could go back onto his knees in order to prep his churring brother.

            As he pushed a finger into Don’s entrance, Leo’s eyes flicked up and he saw Don’s darkly needy cock throbbing and leaking in front of him.  Catching the thick shaft in one hand, Leo bent down to take Don’s dick into his mouth as he thrust his entire finger into Don’s willing ass.

            “Leo,” Don moaned again, lifting and lowering his hips in an attempt to get Leo to suck him off.

            Leo removed his hand from Don’s cock as he took more of his brother’s erection into his mouth.  Picking up the bottle of lube, Leo slid his finger out of Don’s body and lifted it above his head so he could coat two fingers with the liquid.

            His dick felt like it was on fire as he once more delved into Don’s inner core, this time using two fingers so that he could stretch his brother more thoroughly.  After a minute or two, he lifted his mouth from Don’s dick, ignoring the resultant groan of protest.

            Leo gave Don’s insides one final caress, hitting his brother’s prostate as he pulled his fingers out.  Don grunted and his head slammed against the pillow, his hands clutching desperately at the bedding.

            Giving his cock a few strokes with a well lubed hand, Leo lined up with Don’s entrance and pushed in.  Wonderful heat surrounded his cock, the soft walls caressing his shaft with silky pleasure.

            Leo knew Don wanted him to finish him off with his mouth, but Leo wanted Don to climax while Leo was inside of him.  Bracing himself one handed, Leo grasped Don’s cock and began to stroke him in time with Leo’s thrusts.

            “Harder, Leo,” Don murmured, his eyes closed.  He curled his heels around Leo’s calves and began pushing back against him.

            Feeling the fire burn into the very core of his being, Leo started moving faster, reaching for his peak.  He and Don were churring together, the sound vibrating straight into both of their cocks.

            “Ah, ah, ngh  . . . I . . . Leo!” Don shouted as he climaxed, hot come trailing over Leo’s fist to land in puddles on Don’s plastron.

            The clenching spasms of the muscles inside Don’s ass squeezed an intense orgasm out of Leo.  Buried to the hilt, Leo rode out the ecstasy with small twitches and shivers, his head down and chest heaving.

            Fully expelled, Leo pulled out of Don and rolled over to lie next to him, both still gasping from the intensity of their coupling.

            They were quiet for a while after their breathing evened out.  Leo drifted in that comfortable mellow state that existed after a good release.

            Don’s voice broke the silence first.  “We’ve pushed Mikey straight into your arms, haven’t we?” he asked.

            Leo knew Don would eventually figure it out.  “Yes,” he admitted, seeing no point in concealment.

            Don let out a long, breathy sigh.  “Brilliant.  That’s why you’re the leader.  Raph doesn’t know what you’re doing, does he?”

            “No.”  Leo shifted onto his side and caressed Don’s neck with one finger.  He liked the vibration of Don’s vocal cords against his skin.

            “I won’t tell him,” Don said quietly.  “He’s too competitive.  He’ll try to mess this up for you.”

            “You’ve decided not to continue pursuing Mikey yourself?” Leo asked.

            Don chuckled.  “I’m smart enough to recognize that I don’t have the expertise for this particular challenge.”

            “You could give Raph an advantage,” Leo said.

            “By telling him what you’re doing?” Don asked.  “No.  My . . . special feelings for him don’t mean that I’d give Raph an unfair advantage.  Besides, maybe I want _you_ to win.”

            Leo lifted his head and looked into his brother’s face.

            “Don?” he asked.

            Don’s eyes flickered slightly, then he looked up at Leo.

            “I think Mikey belongs with you.  You two . . . fit together.  Just the way Raph and I do.  I think we can all enjoy one another, but as far as personality and need go, we seem to split down those lines,” Don explained.

            Leo smiled.  “Giving you more time with Raph as a side benefit?”

            Don’s face flushed warmly.  “Is that wrong of me?”

            Leo placed the palm of his hand against Don’s face, turning his brother’s head so that they were nearly beak to beak.

            “It isn’t wrong, it’s perfect.  Isn’t that why we began this entire thing?” Leo asked.

            Don smiled back, his eyes lighting hopefully.  “Yes.”

            Now Leo was thinking about that smile on his brother’s face as Don slept peacefully next to him.  Alongside that he replayed Raph’s angry words and actions when he came after Mikey.

            Raph wasn’t angry at the thought of losing out on sex, he’d been genuinely angry because Mikey had upset Donatello.  Leo glanced at his sleeping brother and smiled.  Don had expressed a deeper feeling for Raph, asking Leo to keep his secret because he thought those feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated.

            Don was wrong.  Raphael was completely in love with the genius.

            That realization made Leo very happy.  He wasn’t worried that the two of them would separate from him; they all enjoyed being so physically close to each other.  Leo was happy because Raph and Don complimented each other enormously.  Raph could keep Donny grounded, and Don could mellow Raph’s worst moods.

            It made them balanced.  Leo thought about that for a moment.  The easy going Michelangelo was his complete opposite in so many ways, but very much the same in others.

            Leo’s relationship with Don and Raph was exciting, but he now understood that it wasn’t as fulfilling as he thought it would be.  Apparently what the two middle brothers had found with each other was.

            But Don was sensitive to the moods around him and Mikey’s obstinance could easily pull him back into a miasma of doubt.  What had started as a simple challenge to bring Mikey into their physical joy was now a fight to hold onto it.

            What Raph and Don were moving towards was extremely precious; something that none of them had ever hoped to feel.  Leo wanted them to have that together.

            Leo wanted that as well; it was what he’d been missing from his trysts with his siblings.  It was because he desperately wanted that special closeness that he was going to move slowly and carefully in his quest to claim Mikey.

            Mikey was Leo’s balance and Leo needed him.

TBC………………


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 1,919  
> Rated: PG-13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~This lovely image was created by the talented ashitarimai from DeviantArt  
> 

            Michelangelo felt like crap.  He’d only meant to shut Donny down, not actually stomp all over his feelings.

            Don wasn’t anything like Raph and when he’d tried to talk to Mikey about sex it was probably because he was genuinely concerned that what the older three brothers were doing might alienate the youngest brother.

            If Mikey hadn’t been so quick to snap at Don, his genius brother would probably have found a more delicate way of broaching the subject.  Mikey’s harsh criticism had gotten Don all flustered and he’d blurted out an offer that had then made Mikey defensive.

            Mikey knew that his tongue could be razor sharp, but he’d never used it on Don.  He now understood that he shouldn’t have been so reactionary; he should have let Don explain things in his own way.  It wouldn’t have been difficult to keep Don from going into details.

            An intelligent conversation would have given Mikey the chance to tell Donny to stop bringing up the subject.  Mikey could be done with this instead of having Don locked in his lab, Leo trying to play peacemaker and Raph pissed as shell.

            Mikey had the urge to hang a big sign from the refrigerator that said ‘See, _this_ is why I said sex would mess up our family.’

            Not that it would have gone over too well with Master Splinter.

            Leo had been with Don for a long time and Mikey didn’t see any indication that they’d be coming out soon.  He was a little surprised that Leo hadn’t called him into the lab and asked him to apologize to Don, or to at least talk about what had happened between them.  Mikey was sort of hoping Leo _would_ call him, then he could make it clear to both of them that he didn’t want to talk about sex ever again.

            Mikey didn’t think he’d have to tell that to Raph; his hot headed brother was angry enough to not speak to Mikey for the rest of his life.  He’d never seen Raph so angry over how one of his brothers felt; they always each took care of their own personal issues.

            This was a new side of Raph and Mikey didn’t understand it.  Anything Mikey didn’t understand made him nervous.

            Mikey opened his bedroom door and took a peek around the lair.  If it weren’t for his grumbling stomach, Mikey would simply remain in his sanctuary.

            From a shadowed corner came a tiny ‘meow’ and then a small orange fur ball sauntered up to Mikey and rubbed at his legs.  Leaning down, Mikey picked up Klunk and scratched behind his ears.

            “I guess you’re hungry too, baby?  Let’s go down to the kitchen and see what we can scrounge up,” Mikey told his cat.

            Klunk purred and settled comfortably in his arms, enjoying the ride to the lower level.  At the bottom of the stairs, Mikey could see his Father seated on his favorite chair, watching one of his programs.

            “Have you eaten dinner yet, sensei?” Mikey asked, approaching the television room.

            Master Splinter looked over at him.  “No Michelangelo, I have been too engrossed in this story.”

            Mikey smiled.  “Okay, I’ll throw something together.  I guess the others will come eat if they get hungry.”

            His Father had already turned back to his show, a single nod of his furry head indicating that he’d heard his son.

            Flipping the lights on in the kitchen, the first thing Mikey did was open a can of tuna for Klunk.  Scooping it into the cat’s special dish, Mikey stroked Klunk’s fur and then began rummaging through the cabinets.

            He was too hungry for anything time consuming, so Mikey decided to make a pasta dish of some sort.  Putting some penne on to boil, he pulled the leftover chicken out of the refrigerator and started cubing it.

            A little while later Mikey carried a steaming plate to the table and sat down to eat.  Master Splinter couldn’t have been dragged away from his program by ten horses, so Mikey had taken a plate in to him.

            Mikey was still blowing on the first bite when Raph walked in.

            The fork stopped halfway to Mikey’s mouth as their eyes met.  He expected to see the ill-concealed anger still on his brother’s face, but was surprised to find that the rage he’d shown Mikey earlier was completely gone.

            Something else that Mikey couldn’t quite place had filled in behind the anger.  Mikey noticed that the rims of Raph’s eyes were slightly reddened and that his shoulders were down.

            “Um, are you hungry dude?” Mikey asked tentatively.  “I made a big pot of pasta and chicken with that cream sauce you like.”

            “Sure Mikey, thanks,” Raph said quietly, grabbing a plate and spooning some food onto it.

            He sat down adjacent to Mikey, his eyes fixed on his food.  Watching him from the corners of his eyes, Mikey started to eat.

            The silence stretched uncomfortably for several minutes.  Usually Mikey enjoyed his food and took his time to savor it, but now all he wanted to do was finish what seemed to be a tasteless pile on his plate.

            “I don’t like this anymore than ya’ do,” Raph said out of the blue.

            Startled, Mikey looked directly at him.  “What?  The food?”

            Raph poked at his pasta and shook his head.  “Nah, the foods good.  This.  Ya’ know, us not getting along ‘cause of . . . of that _other_ thing.”

            “Maybe you guys shouldn’t have started that _other_ thing,” Mikey snapped before he could stop himself.  “Sorry,” he said contritely.  “The subject gets on my nerves.”

            Instead of going off on him, Raph just shrugged, his eyes still focused on his plate.  Mikey could see that his brother had something he needed to say and although Mikey was positive he knew what it was, he decided to hold his tongue.

            “The cats sorta out of the bag and it’s damned hard ta stuff it back in, Mikey,” Raph said.

            “Me knowing about it and ignoring you guys is a lot different than you suddenly deciding to grope me on the dojo mats,” Mikey said.  “Don seems to feel I need a sex education lecture when I already know way more  . . . .”

            “Do ya’ think ya’ could shut up for a minute?” Raph asked, not rudely.

            Mikey closed his mouth in surprise and nodded, curious.

            “Ya’ remember a couple years back, when we went after the Shredder?  Ya’ know, when he thought we were dead?” Raph asked, finally turning his head so that he could look at Mikey.

            “What has that got to do with . . . .” Mikey started to say.

            Raph’s upraised palm stopped him.  “Hear me out.  Ya’ remember that, right?”

            “I’m not likely to forget it,” Mikey admitted.

            “Yeah, me either,” Raph said.  “There we were, the five of us fightin’ our way up the inside of that building and tryin’ ta find Shredder.  All kinds of shit getting thrown in our path.  And just about every time somethin’ bad started ta go down, Donny would dig into his bag of tricks and come up with somethin’ new ta deal with it.”

            Mikey grinned.  “He was totally on his game that day,” he said.

            “It was more than that,” Raph said.  “He didn’t have any fear; none.  If stuff worked he was happy, if it didn’t he tried ta figure out somethin’ else.  He was so set on getting us ta the top of that building that he didn’t worry sometimes about watchin’ his own shell.”

            “I remember you were watching it for him,” Mikey said.

            “That’s the point I’m trying ta make,” Raph said, his expression rapt.  “He wasn’t absent minded like ya’ probably think, he just wasn’t worried ‘cause he _knew_ I’d be there.  He _knew_ it, Mikey.”

            Mikey took a minute to absorb what Raph was saying.

            “Don doesn’t scare easily anyway,” Mike said.

            “No he don’t.  He doesn’t scare and he doesn’t back down from a fight, but the job he had ta do that day meant he had ta concentrate on that more than the fighting.  He never said a word either, he just left it ta me ta make sure he didn’t get dead.”  Raph shook his head, a look of wonderment on his face.  “Leo don’t even show me that kind of trust; he sometimes second guesses my moves.  But Donny . . . Donny always trusts me.”

            Mikey started to understand.  “Are you saying that you were watching his back again earlier?”

            “Yeah, something like that,” Raph said.  “I don’t like for Donny ta get hurt.”  He paused and Mikey saw the slightest change in color on his brother’s neck.  “When Don’s in pain I kinda feel it too.”

            Looking back down at his plate, Mikey tried to process what Raph was telling him.  If he was hearing his brother correctly, Raph had formed an attachment for Don that went further than that of a sibling and beyond sexual gratification.

            Mikey almost jumped out of his seat when he felt Raph’s rough, calloused hand settle on his thigh.  Startled, his head shot back up and he found Raph leaning close to him, the intensity of the fire burning behind his gold eyes bright enough to scald.

            “I ain’t gonna be mad at ya’ for not understanding what me, Leo and Donny got going, Mikey,” Raph said, his voice hoarse with emotion.  “It’s new ta ya’ and I get that it’s freaking ya’ out.  I don’t wanna spend the rest of our lives making ya’ jump like ya’ just did whenever I touch ya’ either.  Do me a favor though, brother ta brother.  Don’t tear us down.  Even if ya’ can’t ever see your way clear ta join us, don’t rip what I got with Don apart.”

            Without waiting for an answer, Raph jumped up from his seat and hastily left the kitchen.

            Despite having eaten very little, Mikey found that he really wasn’t all that hungry anymore.  The emotion that Raph left behind filled the kitchen with its power, making even the dull walls seem to shimmer.

            Was that what is was like to care about someone so deeply?  The sheer passion in Raph’s voice made Mikey’s throat close up; he couldn’t have responded to his brother even if Raph had stayed behind to listen to him.

            Mikey could still feel the heat from Raph’s hand where it had rested on his leg.  It almost felt as though Raph’s inner soul had been seared into Mikey’s skin.

            Maybe that’s what Donny felt whenever he was with Raph.  Could it be that the callous display Raph had put on in the dojo was a cover for more profound feelings, that Raph might even be afraid of his own passion?

            Mikey shook his head and stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over.  Why the shell was he even thinking about this?  He hadn’t wanted anything to do with his brother’s carnal urges and he wished that they would stop trying to explain this stuff to him.

            Dumping both plates into the sink, Mikey’s nostrils suddenly quivered as he noticed a strange but not unpleasant scent in the air.  Sniffing curiously, it finally came to him that it was Raph’s musky body odor.

            Shaking, Mikey decided that it was a good evening for a really, really long run through the sewers and over the rooftops.  An extremely long run, all by himself.

TBC……………..


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,538  
> Rated: PG-13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~This amazing image was created by the gifted KameChuu from DeviantArt  
> 

            A noise from the kitchen told Mikey he wasn’t the first one to get up this morning.  He had slept very little the night before, even after a three hour run, and he wasn’t in the mood to face his brothers.  Giving up on trying to sleep and rising so early was supposed to guarantee that he had the kitchen to himself.

            Mikey stopped and debated on going back upstairs.  He could always just wait until someone called him down to practice and eat his breakfast afterwards, knowing that no one would bother him then.

            Setting his shoulders, Mikey decided against that idea.  He was not going to go through the rest of his life feeling out of place and uncomfortable in his own home.  Striving to keep his expression completely neutral, Mikey strode into the kitchen.

            He almost sighed with relief when he saw Leo.  Mikey amended his earlier thought; he wasn’t in the mood to face Raph or Don, but so far Leo hadn’t treated him any differently than normal.  Normal was good.

            Leo was just pouring a cup of tea when Mikey walked in.  One look at his younger brother’s face told him that Mikey hadn’t slept much.  He could also see the worry in Mikey’s normally shining blue eyes; they were unnaturally dull this morning.

            “Good morning, Mikey,” Leo said, taking a sip from his cup.

            “Humph, I’m sure it is for somebody,” Mikey mumbled.  Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out the carton of orange juice and found a clean glass to pour some into.

            “You went out last night,” Leo said mildly.

            Mikey glanced at him over his glass, trying to gauge if Leo was gearing up to begin a lecture.  He relaxed a little when he saw that his brother had turned away from him to dig for something under the sink.

            “Just for a run in the sewers,” Mikey said.  “I thought about hitting the rooftops, but after you saw the Foot out there looking for us, I decided to keep it on the down low.”

            “If that means you decided to be discreet then I think you showed a great deal of common sense,” Leo said with a laugh.

            “I was kinda hoping it would tire me out,” Mikey admitted.

            Leo stood up with a wash cloth in his hand and tipped his head to the side slightly as he studied Mikey.

            “Did you get any sleep bro’?” Leo asked.

            Mikey shrugged.  “Not much,” he said.

            Turning towards the sink, Leo turned the water on and let it get warm before wetting the cloth.

            “We’ll try a little meditation later and see if that helps your sleeplessness,” Leo said.

            “Dude!  I shouldn’t be punished ‘cause I can’t sleep,” Mikey protested good naturedly.

            Leo wrung the excess water out of the cloth and turned to smile at his brother.

            “You usually fall asleep during meditation anyway, Michelangelo,” Leo said.  “Turn around.”

            Mikey did a double take, shifting his eyes from Leo’s face to the wash cloth bunched up in his hand.

            “What are you doing, Leo?” Mikey asked.

            “Turn,” Leo said again, gesturing with one hand.  As Mikey slowly did as instructed, Leo said, “Do you remember where all you went last night?”

            “Not really,” Mikey admitted.  He felt pressure against his carapace as Leo pressed the cloth to it.

            “You got something on your shell,” Leo said.  “Some kind of ground in dirt.”

            “Oh.”  Mikey tried to recall all of the tunnels he had run through, remembering that in several places he’d stirred up dust and in others he’d gone into mud.  He’d rinsed off before crawling into bed though.

            “It’s trapped in the grooves,” Leo told him.  As he began scrubbing between Mikey’s scutes, he asked, “Want to talk about anything?”

            Mikey thought about that question.  It was completely open ended; he could say no and he was pretty sure Leo would drop the subject.  But the press of that cloth was rubbing into sensitive areas of his carapace and Mikey was starting to feel pretty relaxed.

            “Is Donny really mad at me?” Mikey finally asked.

            “He isn’t mad at you at all,” Leo answered.  “He’s mostly upset with himself for placing you in an awkward situation.  Don’s also feeling a little guilty for allowing Raph to see that he was disturbed.  Raph is sometimes overprotective of Donatello.”

            “Yeah, he told me that last night,” Mikey said.

            Leo paused for a moment as he let those words soak in and then continued to work on Mikey’s shell.

            “I told Raph not to bother you again,” Leo said.

            Mikey appreciated that Leo hadn’t asked about their conversation.  He left it up to Mikey as to whether the youngest brother wanted to discuss it.

            “He didn’t bother me,” Mikey said.  “I made dinner and he came in to eat.  I . . . I guess we aren’t fighting anymore.  He explained that he kinda feels like it’s his place to watch Don’s back.”

            “Raph needn’t do that against his own family though,” Leo said.

            As Mikey tried to find a way to describe what he’d guessed about Raph’s feelings for Don, or if he should even talk about that, he felt the wash cloth touch a particularly sensitive spot on his shell.  His mind went blank for a moment as he focused on that feeling, the tingling sensation riding across his spine in waves.

            “He realizes th . . . that now,” Mikey stuttered.

            The wash cloth was playing along the top ridge of his carapace, where his skin sloped into shell.  It was a spot he liked to wash when he was in the shower because it made his entire body feel very warm.

            “Misunderstandings are a two way street, Mikey,” Leo said as he scrubbed.  “Did Raph explain why he felt like he needed to interfere on Don’s behalf on this particular occasion?”

            Now was Mikey’s chance to talk to Leo about the sex thing if he chose to do so.  Once again, Leo was leaving it entirely up to him by not pushing Mikey into talking about things that were outside of his younger brother’s comfort zone.  Mikey could appreciate not only the tact, but the empathy Leo was displaying.

            As Mikey was deciding how best to formulate an answer, Leo’s cloth covered fingers slid along the grooves at the center of his carapace.  Mikey swallowed a gasp as the movement seemed to press against the nerves along his spine; nerves that vibrated with pure pleasure.  The echo of that feeling radiated down until Mikey could feel it in his tail.

            “N . . . not exactly,” Mikey managed to say.  “He was kinda skirting around the issue ‘cause he didn’t want to upset me before I heard him out.”

            Another hard press nearly had Mikey up on his toes.  The base of his tail had begun throbbing and the tip had started to tingle; his entire tail going stiff.  Mikey wanted to tell Leo to stop; that he’d clean the rest of the dirt off by himself, but if Mikey said anything he was afraid Leo would want to know why.

            “As long as the two of you aren’t at odds anymore,” Leo said, purposely not asking Mikey to elaborate.

            The next long sweep of the wash cloth made time seem to stop for Mikey.  He could almost see the dust mites floating in slow motion; the ticking of the wall clock and the beating of his heart were loud in his ears.

            “We aren’t,” Mikey said, his own voice sounding funny in his ears.  “Raph was . . .  _different_ last night.  I don’t know how to explain it except that he wasn’t all macho like he usually is when he’s trying to apologize.”

            “Mmm,” Leo murmured in a noncommittal manner.

            Slightly hypnotized by the feeling of Leo outlining his scutes with the rough cloth, Mikey tried to articulate something of what he’d experienced the evening before.

            “Raph can be really intense when he’s trying to get his point across,” Mikey said softly.  “I mean, I never knew he could be so—“

            Mikey stopped to think.  He didn’t want to say passionate, though that’s what he’d felt.  Another word seemed to fit, so he switched them and said, “Impassioned.  Like he was letting his guard down just for me.  I guess that’s what mostly fixed things between us.  At least, I _think_ they’re fixed.”

            Leo’s hand moved from the center top of Mikey’s carapace to slide downward; one long unhurried motion, the drag of the cloth in between scutes curling Mikey’s toes.  Mikey started to feel a vague pressure building between his legs and had to remind himself to breathe.

            This had only ever happened to him after an intensely erotic dream; a dream where some warm, faceless person pressed against him and opened their mouth against his.

            He always imagined it was a beautiful woman and he always woke up incredibly hard and aching.  Depending on how advanced his arousal was Mikey would either try to ignore it until it diminished, or head to the bathroom and lock himself inside.

            Standing over the toilet with one arm braced against the back wall or in the shower so that water would wash the evidence down the drain were the only places Mikey felt comfortable enough to drop down and masturbate.

            Mikey had no idea before now that someone’s touch could affect a similar arousal.  His face felt flushed and warm and Mikey was becoming incapable of coherent speech.

            Leo was saying something to him but the words weren’t registering.  All Mikey could think about was how good it felt to have his brother stroking the grooves in his shell.

            A thought broke through Mikey’s head that Leo might be doing this on purpose; that there was nothing on his shell and this was an excuse that Leo was using in order to touch him.

            All Mikey could think was, _“He has to know how good this feels.  He has to know, he has to know, he has  . . . .”_

            Suddenly the pressure stopped and Leo stepped away.  Mikey immediately missed the warmth of his brother’s body heat.

            “I got most of it,” Leo said.  “Are you sure you don’t remember picking this up?”

            Mikey turned and stared with a glazed expression at the wash cloth in Leo’s hand.  The cloth was covered in a dark, reddish brown substance.

            Leo moved over to the sink and began rinsing the cloth.  Wringing as much water as he could from the material, Leo leaned down and draped it over the water pipe beneath the sink.

            “I’m heading into the dojo,” Leo said as he dried his hands.  “I need to stretch some kinks out of my neck.”

            For some reason it was suddenly imperative that Leo not leave.  Mikey equated Leo’s presence to the heat he’d felt the night before from Raph.  That same warmth seemed to be rolling off of Leo and Mikey was beginning to find it addicting.

            “Um, wait,” Mikey said, frantically searching for a way to keep Leo near.  “You  . . . you haven’t had breakfast.”

            Leo smiled.  “Actually I had some toast while I was waiting for the water to boil for my tea.  You take your time eating breakfast, Mikey; we’re both up really early.  Join me in the dojo when you’re ready.”

            Before Mikey could think of some other way to get Leo to stay, his older brother had disappeared.  With his departure, the warmth seemed to escape as well, leaving the kitchen cold and not nearly as friendly.

            Mikey almost followed Leo right then, but he stopped himself quickly.  Just because he didn’t understand this newly dependent feeling he was having for Leo didn’t mean he was going to start chasing his big brother around like a panting puppy.

            Walking to the kitchen counter with jerky steps, Mikey immediately recognized Leo’s scent.  It was the second time in his life that he’d paid conscious attention to the masculine aroma left behind by any of his brothers.

            Mikey noticed that where Raph’s scent had left him feeling excited and a bit confused, Leo’s was comforting and full of strength.

            Once Leo was in the dojo he sat down on the floor and began breathing deeply, slowing his racing heartbeat.  Listening to the change in Mikey’s voice, watching how his body, especially his tail, had responded to Leo’s ministrations, had initiated a corresponding cascade of feelings in Leo.

            When Mikey’s breath hitched and his hands clenched at his sides it was all Leo could do to remain calm; only his will-power and superbly honed focus kept him from showing his own arousal.

            By carefully watching Mikey’s reactions Leo knew exactly when to stop his purposeful seduction.  His intent for this morning wasn’t to push anything too far.

            After Don had fallen asleep, Leo had crept out to make sure Raph and Mikey weren’t at each other’s throats.  That was when he discovered that Mikey had left the lair, presumably to run out his anxiety.  Leo had a pretty good idea that Mikey was disturbed enough by the family discord to be unable to sleep well.  He guessed that Mikey would try to avoid his brothers by coming down to breakfast earlier than normal.

            Leo had risen in the very early morning hours without waking Donny and had gone from the lab to the garage straight away.  There he’d carefully prepared one side of a wash cloth by wiping it across the greasy grime of an engine part.  Folding the soiled section inwards, Leo had strategically placed the cloth beneath the sink and then waited for Mikey.

            When he heard Mikey’s door open, Leo warmed the tea and pretended to have arrived only a bit earlier than his brother.

            If Mikey hadn’t come down first, then Leo would have waited for another opportunity.  Touching Mikey in ways that would awaken his latent sexuality was going to be the best approach to claiming Mikey as his.

            The only thing that gave Leo pause now was how Mikey had apparently responded to Raph’s unusual show of vulnerability last night.  It was something the hot head rarely let anyone see and it was a strangely intoxicating sight to behold.  Leo could tell that momentary show of openness on Raph’s part had affected Mikey deeply.

            Leo had to factor in Raph’s sheer animal magnetism and compensate for it somehow.  The normally tough brother had set aside his gruff exterior and Mikey was now reacting favorably to him.  The moment Raph became aware of Mikey’s changed attitude he would understand what had occurred and would take full advantage of the situation.

            Staying a step ahead of Raph meant Leo had to somehow shift Mikey’s attention so that it was firmly directed towards his oldest brother.  The most solid way of doing that was to remove all other distractions.

            Fortunately, he knew Raph’s weakness and wasn’t averse to using it against him.  The fact that this particular purple banded weakness had expressed tacit agreement with Leo’s plans made him a most effective tool in Leo’s arsenal.

            Leo also rather liked the idea of playing matchmaker.

TBC………….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Yes! Two people were inspired to create art for this chapter. This lovely image is by the talented ashitarimai from DeviantArt  
> 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,378  
> Rated: PG-13

            Mikey would not have been surprised if Donatello hadn’t shown up for practice, but the genius was not only there, he was on time.

            They hadn’t run into each other at breakfast because after Mikey quickly scarfed down a bowl of cereal, he had joined Leo in the dojo.  Raph and Don appeared separately, leading Mikey to believe that Don had bypassed breakfast entirely.  Mikey couldn’t help but question whether Don was attempting to avoid him.

            Don didn’t seem in the mood for Raph’s company either, although the red banded brother tried to say a few words to him.  The attempts were met with a wan smile and stony silence.

            All of which reinforced Mikey’s original belief; sex was screwing up their family.

            Throughout their warm-up exercises, Mikey surreptitiously watched his brothers.  Raph’s eyes followed Don everywhere but Don had eyes for no one but Leonardo.  Keeping his gaze stubbornly fixed on their leader was apparently Don’s method of withdrawing from everyone else.

            Mikey could see the pained expression on Raph’s face.  That look of hurt and longing was what Raph had shown Mikey the previous evening; it was the thing that had left Mikey sleepless and agitated.

            He knew all of his brothers cared for him just as he cared for them, but he wondered what it would be like to have someone concerned on the deeply emotional level that Raph was displaying.  Mikey was also curious as to whether Don knew how much Raph loved him; surely a genius could see such obvious visual signs.

            Going through movements that his body knew by heart left Mikey’s mind free to puzzle out the relationship his three brothers had decided to play around with.  Mikey had never had sex and never really thought about sex, other than to take care of needs that popped up unexpectedly.

            Even with his limited knowledge he was pretty sure that what had happened was inevitable; someone was bound to become attached beyond a purely physical level.  Had his brothers even bothered to try to reason that out, or had they just given in to urges and jumped into the sack?

            It could get so much more complicated than that, Mikey thought with an inward snort.  He knew his sharp tongue had wounded Don, he still felt bad about that, but when Don was most upset it wasn’t Raph who’d calmed him and brought him out of hiding, it was Leo.

            Now Don was focusing his attention entirely on the leader to the exclusion of everyone else and Mikey couldn’t help but think maybe Don didn’t reciprocate Raph’s feelings.  It was very possible that Don was entirely captivated by Leo.

            _“Oh shell, this is gonna turn into one sweet mess,”_ Mikey thought to himself.

            Leo’s strength held his team together; his iron will held Raphael in place.  Even that might not be enough if Raph thought Leo had usurped his position in Don’s heart.  Surely his brothers had made some sort of prior agreement about this sort of thing?  How did someone go about making that sort of agreement in the first place?

            _“We solemnly swear to keep personal feelings in check and only think about fucking each other’s brains out,”_ Mikey imagined.  _“No one is allowed to feel anything whatsoever beyond satisfying the needs below the beltline.”_

            He chuckled under his breath at his own inanity and drew a strange look from Raph.  Mikey pretended not to notice as Leo began to lead them through katas, his critical eye watching for mistakes in form.  Mikey turned his concentration back to practice; Leo was obviously in one of those moods where he was expecting perfection.

            Leo certainly believed in leading by example.  Not a day went by that Leo wasn’t practicing, unless he was physically incapable of doing so.  Those times were rare and were usually due to injury rather than illness.  They all had powerful immune systems and recuperative abilities.

            His oldest brother was the shortest of them and the leanest.  He had honed his body into a sharp blade not unlike the swords he loved so much; lean, corded muscle that could be moved at incredible speeds.  Leo possessed stealth and silence capabilities that had surpassed even their Fathers’, and Leo also had the power to become so invisible that sometimes Mikey wondered if Leo simply knew how to move inter-dimensionally.

            Mikey compared that to Raph, whose massive, muscular form dominated a room.  A brute in a fight, Raph could easily brush aside the crush of twenty men.  His hot headed brother believed in taking the battle to the enemy and often rushed headlong into overwhelming odds, only to emerge unscathed, his grin wide and his eyes glowing fiercely.

            Raph spent an inordinate amount of time lifting weights, punching his bag and doing squats.  Despite his incredible musculature, Raph was still capable of ninja speed, making him a formidable opponent that most of their enemies attempted to avoid.

            Mikey turned his thoughts to Donatello.  The brother with the most fantastically unique mental ability was also very strong.  He had spent his entire life scrounging for the raw materials to create things and hauling home that weighty material had given Don some dynamic muscles of his own.

            Not to mention that whipping that heavy bo staff around had turned Don’s wrists into steel cable and given his hands quite possibly the most powerful grip of the four.  Wrenching loose a stubborn, rusted bolt was never a problem for the gentle genius.

            When Mikey compared himself to the others he saw that he also had singular skills.  Nearly as quick as Leo, Mikey was by far the most agile of the brothers and the most natural physical athlete.  He always managed to pick up new moves faster than the other three, dancing circles around them as they struggled, much to Raph’s annoyance.

            Blinking back to the present, Mikey tried to figure out exactly what had set his mind going down that path.  He had never before thought in such in-depth terms about his brother’s physicality; he really didn’t care to analyze them so deeply.

            He had to admit though, as he watched Leo lift and spin through a kick, they were all magnificent physical specimens.

            It was then that Mikey noticed his brother Donatello was also watching Leo move through the fifty or so different forms they practiced every day.

            “ _Yeah, that’s right Donny,”_ Mikey thought bitterly.  _“Raph’s gonna see that and get pissed at Leo, then the only brother I have who I can talk to right now is gonna get dragged into a nasty little triangle.  Wonder if I can go live with April?”_

            At the end of the lengthy set of katas, Leo stopped moving and frowned at his brothers.

            “Are any of you focusing this morning?” Leo asked; a sharp edge to his voice.

            Raph growled.

            “I’m sorry, Leo,” Don said, jumping in quickly before Raph could open his mouth.  “I admit my concentration wasn’t entirely on practice.”

            Leo’s gaze softened, his eyes flitting from Raph to Mikey before settling back on Don.  He nodded his understanding and Don managed a brief smile.

            Raph growled again.

            Mikey began to figure out his best course of action for when the fireworks went off.  Should he run for Master Splinter or simply run for it period?

            “Maybe a little hand-to-hand sparring will bring you guys back to reality,” Leo said.  “Try to imagine you’re battling the Foot and remember that if they put you down you are most likely not going to get back up.”

            Raph made a move in Don’s direction before Leo’s voice stopped him.

            “Raph, you’re with me.  Don and Mikey, get into your stance,” Leo said.

            It was obvious that Don hadn’t expected that; he looked at Leo in startled surprise and then turn wide eyes in Mikey’s direction.

            Mikey smiled brightly.  “Come on Donny.  Let’s show those two how good we are.”

            His friendly, same-as-usual tone seemed to lift a weight off Don’s shoulders.  Managing a smile of his own, Don moved into position opposite Mikey and they began sparring.

            Raph strode over to where Leo stood and slapped Leo’s shoulder with the back of one hand.

            “What the fuck did ya’ do that for?” Raph asked.  “I want ta talk ta Donny.”

            Leo’s face was expressionless as he turned it towards Raph.  “This is practice time, Raph.  We’re here to concentrate on ninjitsu, not talking.  There’s plenty of time for conversation later.”

            “Did Donny say somethin’ about me?” Raph demanded in a sullen tone.  “Is he pissed at me?”

            “Raph, defend yourself.”  It was all the warning Leo gave him as he shot towards his brother.

            Mikey waited until Don was in his stance before he came at him.  Don didn’t move with his usual skill, he seemed to be both nervous and awkward.  It wasn’t a situation that Mikey could allow to continue; Don wasn’t even treating him like a brother anymore.

            Sliding in under Don’s defenses, Mikey quickly knocked the genius on his shell.  Pouncing on Don before he could react, Mikey pinned him to the mat and leaned over him.

            “What’s the story, Donny?  Are you writing me out of the family already?” Mikey asked.

            “Wha . . . ?  I’m not doing . . . .” Don began spluttering.

            “Sure you are,” Mikey said.  “We’ve had our share of arguments but you’ve never given me the cold shoulder before.  Tell me you don’t wish Leo hadn’t made you spar with me this morning.”

            “That’s only because I feel especially guilty about this last argument,” Don said hotly.

            “Well so do I,” Mikey told him.  “I didn’t mean to be so nasty about the way I said some stuff, okay?  I picked the most horrible way to phrase what I was saying ‘cause I wanted to make you not ask me to have sex with you.”

            There, blunt and out in the open.  Don stared up at him, his mouth working as though he wanted to speak, but not sure which words should come out first.

            “I didn’t mean to drop it on you just like that,” Don finally said.

            “Yeah, I know.  You were gonna use all those long, fancy words that you know to make it sound pretty, hoping I’d get curious.  I messed everything up by not giving you that chance.  I could have been nice and shut my big mouth so you could have your say, but the whole thing was embarrassing me so I acted like a kid.  I’m sorry,” Mikey said.

            “No, I’m sorry,” Don said.  “I placed you in that situation even after you said you weren’t interested.  I shouldn’t have pushed past your first no.  I was putting unfair pressure on you and I should have understood how that would make you feel.”

            “Can we agree that we were both dumb jerks and be friends again?” Mikey asked hopefully.

            Don couldn’t help but laugh; Mikey always had a very refreshing way of getting right to the point.

            “Better than friends, Mikey, we’re brothers.  I’m very happy for it to remain that way too,” Don told him.

            Mikey’s smile made one bloom on Don’s face as well.  That’s when Mikey noticed that Donny had a really nice mouth.

            Mikey leaped to his feet abruptly, startling Don.  Pushing himself up on his elbows, Don asked, “Is something wrong, Mikey?”

            “N . . . no dude,” Mikey answered, talking fast.  “Don’t wanna get fussed at by Leo for sitting around talking when we’re supposed to spar.  Come on Don, up and at ‘em.”

            Leo wasn’t giving Raph much time even to breathe, but the larger turtle did see Mikey holding Don down and talking to him.  That was before a flurry of hard punches connected with his jaw and he pulled his attention back to blocking Leo’s strikes.

            That was the major problem with taking your eyes off Leo, he was fast enough to land three punches to every one of Raph’s.

            “Focus, Raphael,” Leo admonished him as one of his blows snuck past Raph’s guard, snapping his brother’s head back.

            “What do ya’ suppose they’re talking about?” Raph asked, shoving aside two of Leo’s punches.

            “I don’t . . . suppose . . .  anything . . . .” Leo dragged out the words as he aggressively attacked Raph’s weak defenses.

            Aggravated, Raph swung a right hook at Leo’s chin, but Leo ducked under it.  Squatting, Leo’s leg shot out and he kicked Raph’s out from under him.

            Springing forward like a thrown lance, Leo landed on the sprawling Raphael and wrapped a hand around his throat, the fingers pressing ever so lightly at certain pressure points.  Raph understood the message; freeze on his own or Leo would freeze him.

            Leo’s eyes were narrowed as he finished his sentence, “when I should be sparring.”

            “Well forgive the fuck out of me for worrying about my brother,” Raph snarled.

            “Raph, they’ll work things out on their own just as they’ve always done,” Leo said.  “You have to back up and let them.  Right now I’m more concerned with your inability to focus.  We will not be going out on patrol tonight if I don’t see you put some real effort into practice.”

            He slowly released his grip on Raph’s neck and backed off of him.  Standing, Raph’s eyes stayed fixed on Leo, his entire attention now given to his oldest brother.

            “I thought ya’ didn’t want ta go topside for a while,” Raph said.  “I thought ya’ wanted ta avoid the Foot.”

            “I still want to avoid the Foot, make no mistake about that,” Leo responded.  “But if we disappear then we leave this city that much more vulnerable.  I can’t stand knowing there is vermin topside any more than you can.”

            Raph chuckled.  “First time I ever heard ya’ put it like that, Fearless.  Might be hope for ya’ after all.”

            “You want to give me some hope, Raph?” Leo asked.  “Show me some motivation.”

            Raph’s hands came up.  “Ya’ are so on big brother.  Ya’ better pair me up with Donny tonight.”

            “You’ll have to earn it,” Leo said.  “Beat me and I’ll think about it.”

            “Oh fuck yeah,” Raph said as he charged.

TBC……………..


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,459  
> Rated: NC-17 heavy tcest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This beautiful image was created by the terrific KameChuu from DeviantArt  
> 

            There was no moon to spotlight them as the brothers ran the rooftops.

            It was Leo’s call as to what they’d do once they left the sewers and all he’d said was that they should follow him.  With a smile and the sound of a challenge to the words, he’d also said they should try not to get left behind.

            The joyous laughter that chased him meant his challenge had been accepted.

            Running, leaping, flipping, bouncing and springing the four raced the wind, dodging obstacles and leaving behind the tension that had invaded their lives over the last few days.

            Wild shouts of elation floated through the air as the adrenaline flowed through muscles that flexed and stretched to their fullest extent.  They ran as if there were no cares, no anxieties and no responsibilities.  They ran and played together for the sheer freedom of it.

            It became obvious after a time that Leo was not leading them randomly.  They began to leave behind the lights of the more populated sections of the city as he took them into an area occupied by abandoned manufacturing plants.

            Several buildings stood together, testaments to a past glory when human labor was required in the building of things.  Now robotics and hi-tech gadgetry had replaced human hands and sweat, and since the buildings were too old to make retrofitting feasible, they had been shut down.

            It was a prime playground for youthful ninjas in training.

            Leo finally stopped them when they reached the rooftop of an old jewelry manufacturing building.  It was three stories tall, made of brick and iron, still solid because it had been built for function and not for beauty.

            Raph looked at him questioningly.  The area was completely uninhabited; even transients avoided it because it was so far away from sources of both food and money.

            “I thought ya’ wanted ta do a patrol tonight,” Raph said.

            Leo shook his head and grinned.  “After the rough practice session this morning, I decided we need to work on our skills a bit more.”

            “Ninja tag?” Mikey asked hopefully.  He liked the adventure of playing games.

            “Not quite,” Leo answered, reaching into his belt.  From inside of it he pulled out four strips of cloth; two bright yellow, two fluorescent green.

            “I hope it ain’t flag football,” Raph said, “’cause ya’ forgot ta bring the football.”

            “Not that either,” Leo said with a chuckle.  “We’re going to play a modified game of ‘hide and seek’, a game I prefer to call ‘seek and find’.”

            “And just exactly how is this game played?” Don asked.

            “There are two hunters and two targets,” Leo explained.  “The hunter’s sole purpose is to locate his target and acquire his flag.  The target must elude the hunter, but in order to stop being a target, he has to find a way to capture the hunter’s flag.

            “The rules of the game are that the flags must be taken through strategy, stealth or trickery.  A target may not stand and wait for his hunter and then engage in a brawl to try to grab the flag.”

            “There goes your advantage, Raph,” Mikey teased.

            “So the targets get one color and the hunters another?” Raph asked, ignoring Mikey.

            “Nope.  Each team gets a color.  That’s another part of the game.  You can only hunt for the target that is wearing your color,” Leo said.

            “How are ya’ dividing the teams?” Raph asked; his face completely expressionless.

            Leo handed Raph a yellow flag and Mikey a green one.  “You two are the hunters,” he said.

            Don was staring at the two remaining flags, his eyes carefully avoiding any of his brother’s.

            Very slowly, Leo held up the remaining green flag and then tied it loosely to his belt.  He heard the faint sound of Raph’s held breath being expelled as he reached over to give the second yellow flag to Donatello.

            “Is there a time limit?” Mikey asked as he followed Leo’s example and attached his flag to his belt.

            “No, but there is a penalty for losing your flag,” Leo said with a hint of a smirk.  “You have to do your teammates chores for a month.”

            “A month!” Mikey exclaimed in horror.  He was already visualizing himself doing Leo’s chores.  It figured he’d get stuck with the ultimate ninja as his target.

            “Is that enough to motivate everyone, or should I add a few personal things?  For example, if you lose Raph, you have to lock up the shell cycle for the month,” Leo said.

            Raph held up a hand to stop him.  “A month’s worth of chores is serious enough, bro’.  Trust me, I’m plenty motivated.”

            Something in the way he said those words made Don flush, the color along the sides of his neck changing almost imperceptibly.  Mikey noticed it and suddenly felt warm all over.

            _“Shell,”_ he thought as he pulled his eyes away, _“what’s wrong with me?  Day before yesterday that kinda display made my skin crawl.”_

            He didn’t have time for further thoughts as Leo’s final instructions interrupted them.

            “This building is the hunting ground; if you leave it you lose.  The game stops if anything unexpected happens; remember, this is an abandoned building for a reason.  If anyone gets into trouble, use your shell cell.  To be on the safe side, I want the hunters to text each other every thirty minutes and the targets to do the same.  If someone doesn’t report in, the game stops and we go looking for them.

            “The targets have a sixty second head start.  After that, we’re fair game.  Oh, and by the way, no sharing of information.  If you spot someone else’s target you are _not_ to give away their location.  Remain focused on your own task.  Any questions?”

            Raph’s head was down, but he was looking at Don from beneath his eye ridges.  Don’s eyes were glued to Leo and he shook his head.

            “No, dude.  It’s crystal clear,” Mikey answered for all of them.

            “Then time starts  . . . now,” Leo said before he sprinted to the edge of the roof and jumped down.

            Don moved in the opposite direction, his leap onto the fire escape producing a dull _clang_.

            Raph saw the look on Mikey’s face and laughed.  “Ya’ want some advice, Mikey?”

            Mikey glanced at him.  “Advice?”

            “Yeah, about how ta hunt Fearless,” Raph said.  “Stay in one spot and let him find ya’.”

            “Ha, ha,” Mikey said sarcastically.  “That’s real helpful.”

            “Times up,” Raph announced and took off at a lope.

            Mikey remained where he was, watching as Raph disappeared.  If Leo was the target that Mikey was going to have to search for; then he decided the first thing to do was come up with some sort of a plan.

            Raph surveyed the outside of the building as he swung onto the fire escape.  The bottom level had narrow windows set high along the walls, but the two top stories were graced with windows wide enough for a huge mutant turtle.

            They all appeared to be not only closed but sealed and Raph snorted.  Don wasn’t going to just leave a window open for him.

            His sharp eyes spotted the difference in one of the windows as soon as Raph’s head swiveled in that direction.  The layer of dust along one corner had been disturbed and as he drew closer, he could see slight tool marks.

            Grinning, he shoved the tip of one of his sais into the same area and the window popped open.  Sliding the glass panel to the side, Raph dropped into the building and then froze as he listened.

            Eyes partially closed, Raph let the space around his body speak to him.  His ki expanded, touching the air itself and then finding the path created by the passing of another living form.

            Once his life essence had discovered the unique signature left by Donatello’s, Raph began to jog as he followed it.  While he ran, he wondered why Donny hadn’t bothered to disguise his own ki; it was one of the most important lessons their Father had taught them when they were studying the way of invisibility.

            At the top of a staircase, Raph caught a whiff of Donatello’s scent and plunged downwards, barely touching every third step as he made his way to the bottom floor.

            This was another thing that puzzled Raph.  On the bottom level he found himself surrounded by conveyor belts, cracked and aged, but the motors that operated them were still grimy with oil.  Don could so easily have covered up his unique musk with the simple application of a couple of stripes of grease.

            Following his brother’s scent signature, Raph ventured deeper into the production area of the plant.  Dust covered everything; tools lay where their owners had left them when it came time to vacate.

            Without a moon and with only a few street lights burning outside, the darkness was nearly complete on the ground floor.  Raph’s pupils expanded to accommodate the low light; a lifetime of dwelling in the sewers made the minimal visibility adequate enough for him to avoid stumbling over anything.

            Just as he was about to reach the far wall, something tapped lightly against a metal beam to his left.  Raph froze and then turned.

            Donatello stood between two of the long conveyor belts, his bo staff out as he repeated his signal and then stared into Raph’s eyes.

            Raph padded towards him on silent feet, his approach purposely slow in order to see what Don would do.  Don stood completely still as he waited for Raphael.

            “That kinda defeats the purpose of this exercise, don’t it, Donny?” Raph asked in a voice that was low and smooth, the sound a caressing purr not unlike that of a stalking tiger’s.

            Don’s dark eyes held his brother’s.  “It’s okay, I’ll concede my capture.”

            “Yeah, Don?  Is that what I did, capture ya’?” Raph asked, his voice growing more husky.

            “A long time ago,” Don answered in a near whisper.

            Raph reached across the intervening space and touched a fingertip to Don’s forearm.

            “What about all those questions ya’ got now about us being wrong for wanting ta be together?  Maybe I ain’t the one that can give ya’ the answers,” Raph said quietly.

            “For me, Raphie, _you_ are the only one _with_ the answers,” Don said with just the tiniest hitch in his voice.

            “Ya’ sure?  I’m pretty good at doing all the wrong things,” Raph said as he took a step closer to his brother.

            “You’re pretty good at doing the right ones too,” Don said, moving forward so that he was only a foot from Raph.

            Raph took a deep breath, his golden eyes swimming in the depths of Don’s chocolate colored orbs.

            “Donny, I gotta tell ya’ something, something that I ain’t been brave enough ta tell ya’ before,” Raph said.

            “You can always tell me anything,” Don assured him.  “I’ll never judge you.”

            A corner of Raph’s mouth lifted in a smile.  “I know that.  This thing ain’t anything like that, it’s just that I been . . . afraid ya’ didn’t want ta change what the three of us have going.”

            “We’re trying to add Mikey, so I’m pretty open to change,” Don said encouragingly.

            “Yeah, I’m getting that from ya’,” Raph said.  “Look, Don, I . . . I don’t feel the same way about Leo or Mikey as I do about ya’.  I need ya’ more than I need them.”  His eye ridge dipped a little as he tried to make Don understand.

            “Why?” Don asked.

            He wanted Raph to say it.  Normally he would have spared Raph the embarrassment of talking about his feelings, but Don was rather raw and fragile after two days of questioning every choice he had been making of late.  Don refused to guess what Raph had on his mind and risk being wrong.

            “’Cause I . . . I’m . . . .”  Raph blew a puff of air out from between his lips, unsure of how to go on.

            “Just tell me,” Don urged.

            Raph lifted a hand to the back of Don’s neck and pulled him close enough so that their beaks almost touched.

            “I’m in love with ya’,” Raph finally managed, his voice hoarse with emotion.

            “Raph,” Don choked out.  “Raph, I love you too.”

            “Oh shit,” Raph said before wrapping Don’s mouth tightly with his own.

            After several breathless minutes their tongues separated.  Raph pressed the side of his face against Don’s, one hand still on Don’s neck, the other waist level against Don’s carapace.

            “I wasn’t sure; I didn’t know,” Don whispered.  “Our first time together, I let the alcohol talk when I blabbed out how I was starting to feel about you.  You didn’t say anything and I figured you were letting your actions speak for you.  I thought that would be enough for me.  But your interactions were the same with both Leo and me so I decided you wanted to maintain the status quo.”

            “Shell, Donny, I was just doing what the three of us agreed ta,” Raph said.  “With Leo I get the kicks and the excitement and we stay close ta each other.  It’s the same way I feel when all three of us are having sex; it’s an outlet.  I would never give that up and I wouldn’t ever ask ya’ ta either.  We need Leo; he needs us.”

            “Brothers,” Don murmured.  “More than brothers.”

            “More than brothers,” Raph agreed as his lips brushed against Don’s neck.  “Everything.  You’re everything, Donny.  I knew years ago that I felt different about ya’, but I didn’t want ya’ ta think I was crazy, or some kinda pervert.”

            “Years, Raphie?” Don asked.  “I’ve felt like that about you as well.  Think of all the time we’ve wasted.”

            Raph leaned his head back so he could catch Don’s eyes.  “We didn’t waste anything, ‘cause we were always together.  That’s all I want from life, Donny, for the two of us ta always be together.  I don’t need anything else.”

            Don’s mouth twitched into a tentative smile and he nodded.  Raph pressed his cheek against Don’s once more, simply holding his brother.

            “You know, you did catch me, Raph,” Don whispered, one hand on Raph’s hip and the other squeezing the bicep on his arm.  “As your captive you can do anything you want with me.”

            Raph twisted his head slightly, his warm lips against Don’s face.  “Ya’ lured me into a trap, so I’d say ya’ captured me.”

            Don moaned as Raph left a trail of heated kisses from his cheek to his collar bone.

            “Since I already texted Leo that I’d been caught; do you think he’ll will buy into a tie?” Don asked.

            “Don’t care ‘bout him right now,” Raph answered.  Lifting his head again, he whispered against Don’s ear slit, “Ya’ can take me if ya’ want Donny.  Ya’ never have and I wanna give that ta ya’ if ya’ want it.”

            This time it was Don’s turn to pull his head back so he could see Raph’s face.  The open vulnerability he witnessed was poignant, sending a quiver of desire burning its way down Donatello’s spine.

            “I don’t . . . .”  Don stopped to clear his throat.  “I don’t need that from you right now.  Maybe someday I’d like to have that experience.  For the moment, I like things the way they are.”

            Raph’s mouth came close to his.  “I want ya’ Donny; right here, right now.  Forget Leo, forget Mikey; forget this stupid game.  For once, I want ta love ya’ the way it was meant ta be between us.”

            “Raph,” Don moaned, the only word he could manage before his brother’s hot mouth consumed his.

            Just as Raph’s mind started to lose itself to the joy of his emotions, Don pulled away from him and out of his arms.  Eyes partially closed, Raph reached out with both hands, his fingertips brushing against Don’s plastron as his brother backed slowly away.

            Don’s eyes were beckoning Raph to follow him and Raph did, moving like an automaton, Don’s pull magnetic.  Leaning his bo staff against a chair, Don hopped onto one of the conveyor belts.  His legs dangled over the edge and he invitingly spread his knees widely apart.

            Raph felt like he was floating as he moved into the space Don had so willingly provided.  Once Raph was in position, Don wrapped his arms around his brother’s neck and pushed his mouth hungrily against Raph’s.

            Having devoured some of Raph’s passion, Don released his grip, making Raph groan.  Don smiled slightly in answer and carefully lay back, sliding his hands over Raph’s arms.

            Holding onto Raph’s forearms, Don wiggled until his tail was free of the platform’s edge.  Raph gasped as the warmth of Don’s lower plastron came into contact with his.

            Raph found himself mesmerized by Don’s expression; need, joy, and lust played over the genius’ features.  Keeping his eyes glued to Raph’s, Don lifted his feet and braced his heels on the edge of the conveyor belt; his lower half completely open.

            The sight was too much for Raph who had been growing steadily harder beneath his shell.  With an audible moan, he dropped down, his cock throbbing.

            Leaning over, Raph captured Don’s mouth in a searing kiss, his breathing harsh.  He felt something shift and press against his cock and the heat of it told him that Don had released his own erection.

            Don was churring into his mouth, the sound vibrating Raph’s plastron.  He moved his hips, angling his dick so that it slid alongside his brother’s, making Don moan.

            “That’s so good Raphie,” Don panted.  “Give me more; sh . . . show me how you feel.”

            Raph squeezed his eyes shut and licked his lips.  “Ya’ sure are tempting me, Donny.  Gotta  . . . gotta be careful . . . .”

            Don lifted his head, his hiss making Raph’s eyes open.  “I’m already prepped.  Why do you think I locked the window?  I needed those few extra minutes.”

            “You’re a fucking genius,” Raph said, rolling his hips back and pressing his dick against Don’s entrance.

            He slid in with practiced ease, the slick warm passage surrounding him in a tight embrace.

            “Yes,” Don responded with a low groan.

            Raph didn’t know if Don was agreeing with him, or encouraging Raph to continue.  Maybe both.  It didn’t matter at that point because only the building falling on them could have gotten his cock out of Don’s hot accommodating body.

            For a moment, Raph did nothing more than relish the feeling of being buried so deeply in Don’s core.  Don lay on his carapace, his eyes glued to the look of rapture on Raph’s face.  He decided then that he would do anything, _anything_ to make Raph look that way as often as possible.

            Leaning into Don, Raph took a solid grip on the top edge of his brother’s shell, his other hand sliding between them to wrap around Don’s engorged cock.  As a corner of his mouth lifted, Raph met Don’s eyes and began to thrust.

            Don’s hands were still on Raph’s forearms and his grip tightened as Raph moved inside of him.  His feet, hooked over the edge of the conveyor, kept his body from sliding away as Raph began to rock harder into him.

            When Don churred it was like a narcotic to Raph’s system.  The blood in his veins turned to liquefied heat and he began to stroke Don’s rock hard shaft, forcing more of those wonderful sounds out of his brother.

            “Raph, Ra~ph,” Don moaned, the desire in his voice unrestrained.

            Don used his leg muscles to push back against Raph’s hard drive.  When Raph hit his prostate dead on, Don yelped and his cock twisted in Raph’s fist.

            As always when he was with Don, the system overload started to happen too quickly.  For once, Raph wanted to slow things down for both of them.

            Using every bit of his willpower, Raph buried his cock inside Don’s body and stopped moving, his brow furrowed in concentration.  Holding Don’s throbbing cock near the base, Raph squeezed in order to block his brother’s pending orgasm.

            Don whimpered, his chest heaving from his exertions.  “ _Raph_ , don’t stop,” Don begged.

            “Slow it down,” Raph panted.  “I want to enjoy being inside of ya’.  I just want ta stay like this for a few minutes.”

            With his hand surrounding and protecting Don’s meaty flesh, Raph leaned over to capture his brother’s mouth.  Don lifted his head to meet Raph’s lips, letting his tongue convey the desperation he was feeling.

            When they slipped apart, Raph threw his head back and laughed.  “Damn, Donny!  Ya' guys think I’m the impatient one.”

            “Stop teasing me,” Don groaned, tilting his head back.

            The look on his face sent a flash fire straight into Raph’s groin.  Adjusting his stance, he began to drive into Don, his hand a blur as he stroked Don towards completion.

            Suddenly Don started to shake, his knees tapping against Raph’s sides.  His inner walls clamped down almost impossibly tight on Raph’s cock and his mouth opened in a silent shout as he climaxed.

            Don’s hips were jumping off the conveyor and slamming his bottom half against Raph’s.  Raph’s tail began to twitch as a tiny pulsating rhythm worked its way from his tail to his rectum and then into his cock.  Each pulse added pressure to his massively hard erection until the building fire grew too large.

            Raph’s orgasm was an explosion ripping into Don’s body.  Biting his bottom lip until it bled, Raph jerked through his climax, his hand still moving over his brother’s cock, pumping out the final stream of ejaculate.

            Completely drained, Raph released his hold on Don and slumped over.  Their plastrons rubbed against each other as they breathed heavily, the friction producing a rasping sound.

            Raph’s mouth pressed against Don’s temple as he said, “Promise me you’ll always be with me, Donny.  No matter what happens, no matter what the future holds, okay?  Promise me that ‘cause I can’t live without ya’.”

            “I promise, Raphie,” Don said in a husky whisper.  “I can’t live without you either.  You anchor me.”

            “Ya’ think Leo will understand?” Raph asked.

            “Oh, I know he will,” Don answered, “as long as we don’t shut him out.  He needs this too.”

            “He needs Mikey,” Raph stated positively.

            The tone of his voice made Don turn his head so he could look into Raph’s eyes.  There was a knowing glint in them, and his mouth had curved up into a cocky grin.

            “Are you conceding the challenge to him?” Don asked, puzzled.

            “If I do that, he won’t work so hard trying ta get ta Mikey,” Raph said with a smirk.

            Don wiggled underneath his brother and Raph pushed himself upright, pulling out of Don and tucking himself back in.  Don did likewise as he sat up, his eyes mere slits as he surveyed Raph’s complacent appearance, for all the world like that of a big cat who has just fed well.

            “Is there something you want to share with me, Raphael?” Don asked in the tone of voice that brooked no nonsense.

            Raph set his fists against his hips, striking a self-assured pose.  “It was the best idea I could come up with ta find out if ya’ felt the same way about me that I’ve been feeling about ya’.  I was completely gone over ya’ and I didn’t know what ta do about it with Leo in the way.  I had ta find out which one of us was the third wheel in your eyes, didn’t I?  Mikey’s a better match for Leo anyway.”

            “You engineered this?” Don asked in surprise and then a light bulb flashed on in his mind.  “You’ve been acting this entire time haven’t you?  The first clumsy move on Mikey in the dojo, all those inappropriate innuendos, the lewd behavior; it was all an act for Mikey’s benefit.”

            Raph chuckled.  “Well, for Mikey and Leo,” he admitted smugly.  “Leo ain’t the only one who can come up with a plan.  Don’t tell him though, he’ll think I’m after his job again and I figured out a long time ago I don’t want it.  I just like giving him hell so he don’t get a big head.”

            “Why?” Don asked, still amazed at Raph’s revelation.

            “Because I want ya’,” Raph said, his expression turning tender.  “I wanna be as close ta ya’ as possible.  Leo loves us, but it ain’t the same kinda love the two of us have.  I kinda got a feeling he wants that too.  I’ve seen him looking at Mikey in a different way the last couple months.  Mikey acts like a big goof, but he’s the same as Leo in a lot of ways.”

            “Mikey’s mentality and abilities are better suited to Leo’s,” Don said thoughtfully, his eyes on the ground.  He looked up suddenly.  “Did you know how negatively Mikey would react to our suggestions?”

            Raph stepped close again, reaching out to grip Don’s biceps firmly.  “I did not,” he said sharply.  “I figured he’d shrug us off and then get curious enough ta go ta Leo.  Ain’t no way I’d have let him hurt ya’ like he did.  When I thought he’d destroyed what we had together I couldn’t . . . .”  Raph paused to swallow, working to contain the remembered emotions so that he could finish.

            “Raph,” Don began.

            “I almost forgot he was my brother too,” Raph admitted in a harsh whisper.  “I wanted ta lay him out flat and drag him into your lab and force him ta admit he was wrong.”

            “I wouldn’t have liked that,” Don told him.

            Raph nodded, his lips compressed into a straight line.  “Leo stopped me before I could do something stupid and pretty much read me the riot act on that fact,” Raph said finally. 

            “I’m an engineer and a scientist, but I’m also a very traditional ninja,” Don said in what he hoped was a lighter tone.  “Leo is the leader, appointed to that position by our Master.  I’ll follow his lead, Raph.  Please understand that.”

            Raph’s mouth quirked up into a smile.  “That’s another one of those things I love about ya’.  I always know where ya’ stand on a subject.  I got no argument with ya’ following Leo’s commands when we’re bein’ a team just so long as you’re mine when we’re bein’ family.”

            “I think I can safely say that works both ways,” Don replied as he leaned into Raph’s kiss.

TBC……………………


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,539  
> Rated: R

            The third floor of the old building appeared to be the location for the executive offices.  A long narrow corridor was broken periodically by sets of doors, each wearing a bronze plaque proclaiming ‘manager so-and-so’, ‘vice-president somebody’, or ‘comptroller whoozit’.

            A set of mahogany double doors at the end of the hall wore a gold plaque with the word ‘president’ in large letters emblazoned on it.

            This was where Mikey had decided to begin his search.  He had spent five minutes trying to think like Leo would and had finally given up on that.  At first, he believed that his brother would choose the ground level because it was a vast space filled with shadows.  Leo could watch for Mikey’s approach without being seen.

            Then Mikey figured that there was no way Leo would choose the ground floor because he had to know that’s where Mikey would look for him.  Leo would wait for Mikey to work his way up and when the youngest had conveniently stepped into an enclosed area, Leo would pounce.

            As he worked to that conclusion, Mikey had laughed at himself.  Surely Leo would have known that Mikey would choose option two, having crossed the first option off his mental list.  Therefore, option one was the logical place for Leo to be hiding.

            In the end, Mikey discarded all of that reasoning and opted to think like Donatello.  Leo would not hide anywhere near Don, and Don would most likely choose to hide in the cavernous manufacturing area on the ground floor.

            Having finally reached his decision, Mikey entered the building through a window that was covered in dust and cobwebs.  He was absolutely not going in anywhere near Leo’s entry point; Mikey wouldn’t put it past his brother to be standing there waiting for him to leap over the windowsill.

            Mikey stood completely still as he studied his surroundings.  Leo was nowhere in sight, nor did Mikey sense his presence.  He didn’t really expect that he would, but Mikey wasn’t going to take anything for granted, not when he was stalking such dangerous prey.

            The corridor he was in opened out in a T at both ends.  Only two doors were built into the wall opposite the windows; both restrooms.

            Since he wasn’t exactly sure where Leo had entered the building, Mikey randomly chose to turn to his left, cautiously peering around the corner when he reached the T.  To his left was an emergency door that led to a fire escape; to his right another corridor, this one dotted with a lot more doors.

            As Mikey stood in the center of the dusty, worn carpet reality slipped sideways for a moment and he felt like he was in the middle of one of those vivid video games he liked to play.  Shaking his head, Mikey pulled himself back to the present.  Zombies were _not_ going to begin crowding the hallway in an attempt to rob him of his brains.

            A nice full moon would have been appreciated, but since there was none, Mikey made due with the dull light that filtered in from the street lamps.  His eyes were in constant motion as he traversed the length of the corridor, moving slowly as he went.

            Mikey’s senses were on full alert.  If Leo had left any kind of unintentional clue, it would be minute and easily missed.  He tried to remember Master Splinter’s lessons on hiding from an enemy and what his sensei had taught them about searching for such an enemy.

            There was a slight movement to his right and Mikey’s head jerked to the side.  A spider had dropped down from the ceiling and was frantically spinning its web in order to remake some broken strands.

            Mikey smiled.  This was his first clue that Leo had passed this way at some point.

            Continuing down the corridor, Mikey looked at the closed doors he was passing.  Small signs posted on the wall near each told him that he was in the accounting wing of the building.  The doors themselves told him Leo was not inside any of those offices; dust, grime, and spider webs were completely intact on all of them.

            He reached another intersection and another choice.  To the right took him down a new corridor full of doors; straight ahead of him was a staircase.

            As he hesitated, Mikey heard the tiniest creak.  It came from the corridor, the sound of a wooden door settling back into its frame.

            Choice made, Mikey turned right and edged his way forward, his carapace inches from one of the corridor walls.

            The carpet here was richer looking and the first fancy door plaque told him he was approaching the executive suites.  Mikey suppressed a chuckle; it figured this would be where Leonardo would choose to hide.

            Dust lay thick over everything, including the carpet.  Leo might be an exceptional ninja, but he couldn’t walk on air.  Mikey kneeled and then leaned down; turning his head to the side until his cheek nearly touched the ground.

            At eye level with the carpet, Mikey could see the faintest traces of footmarks in the dust.  Leo had made his way carefully down this corridor, hugging the wall just as Mikey was doing, but no matter how cautious he was not to disturb the dust, some of it was bound to adhere to the soles of his feet.

            He grinned and started to stand up before a thought hit him.  Remaining where he was, Mikey’s eyes narrowed.  If he knew the dust would stick to Leo’s feet, then Leo knew it as well.

            Once more Mikey leaned down, focusing on the footmark closest to him.  His vision narrowed to a fine point as he concentrated; everything else blotted out as he examined the most infinitesimal detail of that mark.

            That’s when he noticed that Leo had either grown a third toe, or he had walked backwards in his own steps.

            Rising very slowly, Mikey eyed the doors on either side of him.  According to the legends stamped on them, they both belonged to vice-presidents of some sort.  He had no idea what size of an office a vice-president rated, but it had to be large enough for a ninja turtle to hide in.

            Since Leo’s footmarks were nearer one door than the other, Mikey concentrated his attention on that one.  In the upper right hand corner a tiny spider was scrambling to spin its web.

            _“Found you,”_ Mikey thought. 

            Mikey listened at the door for several minutes before doing anything else, even though he knew that was useless.  Leo was much better than any of them at settling into a spot and becoming completely immobile, for hours if need be.  Mikey had no idea how his brother managed that, thirty minutes in one position gave him hopeless fidgets.

            Finally taking a deep breath, Mikey reached for the doorknob and took his time turning it.  If Leo was situated nearby, Mikey hoped that his brother wouldn’t notice the knob’s rotation if it was moved slowly enough.

            Once it had turned as far to the right as possible, Mikey set his shoulder against it and gently eased the door open.

            _“Sorry spider,”_ Mikey mentally apologized as he broke the arachnid’s web again.

            Every sense alert, Mikey peeked into the room.  What he found was an anteroom; a space that had been occupied by someone in an administrative position.  There was a desk to the right and a row of filing cabinets along a wall to the left.

            Further along that wall, nearest a section of windows, was a door.  To the right of the desk was another door.

            Mikey lifted his head to sniff the air.  A very faint rank scent emanated from the door closest to the filing cabinets, the smell that of a backed up pipe filled with raw sewage.  Mikey knew that scent well.  It explained why Mikey couldn’t smell his brother.  Probably the door led to an executive washroom. 

            That meant that the door next to the desk probably belonged to the hotshot VP.  Mikey slipped inside, leaving the door partially ajar.  He didn’t want to fumble for the knob if Leo popped out at him like a jack-in-the-box.

            The first thing he did was to look up.  It would have been just like his brother to be propped up against the ceiling waiting to drop on Mikey.  Sighing with relief when he found the ceiling empty, Mikey then squatted to get a look under the desk.

            Still no sign of Leo himself, but a couple of dust balls gathered against the legs of the desk told of his passing.  Dust balls don’t form without an air current.

            Standing, Mikey looked at the door on the left and then the one on the right.  He couldn’t be positive that Leo was still here, but it was a safe bet considering the amount of time that had expired.  Why would he take such care to enter this office and then leave?

            That left Mikey with a choice; should he look behind door number one or door number two?

            He was starting to feel like a gunslinger in an old western, his hand poised over his gun, fingers twitching with nerves.  Since Leo had said there was no time limit, it meant that Mikey’s target didn’t have the option of waiting out the clock.  Whatever move Mikey made, Leo was going to be ready with a counter move.

            Mikey decided to try the office door.  The dust balls showed that Leo had passed close to the desk and that seemed to indicate that big brother was making for the door to the right.  Walking with as much stealth as he could muster, Mikey headed towards that door.

            Maybe it was his nerves or some sort of sixth sense, but Mikey was jumpy enough that his eyes were still darting left and right even as he approached the closed door.  For that reason, Mikey noticed that one of the windows wasn’t completely shut and a fine pinch of dried paint particles had fallen to the carpet beneath it.

            As he spun away from the window a hulking form simultaneously smashed through the glass.

            Splintered shards rained down around him as Mikey leaped aside, Leo’s barreling body missing him by a hairs breadth.  His mind worked fast; in this small space his brother’s greater speed gave Leo the advantage.

            Before Leo could turn around, Mikey dove for the partially open entry door, his hand sweeping back to grab the knob.  He heard Leo’s grunt of surprise as Mikey darted out and slammed the door behind him.

            But instead of running full tilt away from the office, Mikey stopped and plastered himself against the wall just to the right of the door, waiting.

            Nothing happened.  Dead silence fell and Mikey knew that Leo wasn’t coming through that door, not with the chance that Mikey was still standing there.  Mikey could either leave and try to work around behind Leo, or he could attempt to trick Leo into coming out.

            Banging his fist against the wall, Mikey stomped his feet as though running, letting the sounds taper off after a few seconds.  Then he pulled one of his nunchucks out of his belt and threw it, bouncing it off the wall in the crossing corridor.

            His carapace was against the wall again before the sound finished echoing.

            Mikey knew he was going to have to be quick; he would get only one try and it would require split second timing.  Leo had supernatural reflexes and hair trigger responses.

            Just as Mikey planned, Leo shot through the door, his eyes on the end of the corridor.  Darting forward, Mikey moved with a speed he’d never before achieved in his life.

            Leo was faster.

            Twisting in a mid-air leap to avoid his brother, Leo spun away from Mikey, coming down on his toes.  He swiftly lunged forward, his hand stretched towards the flag on Mikey’s belt.

            Mikey threw himself backwards, somersaulting away as Leo rushed him.

            The powerful thrust of Mikey’s leg muscles compensated for Leo’s speed, keeping the youngest out of his brother’s reach.  As he sprang back, Mikey saw that he would soon run out of room.

            Approaching the locked door at the end of the corridor, Mikey bent at the elbows when his hands came down on the floor, dipping so low that his beak nearly touched the ground.  Pushing off with all his might, Mikey catapulted his body nearly all the way up to the tall ceiling.

            Bending at the waist, his feet hit high on the wall above the doors and he kicked off of it, his entire body flying completely over his brother as Leo reached for him.  He saw Leo skid to a quick stop, pivoting just as Mikey landed behind him.

            In a squatting position, Mikey’s hand shot out and he snagged the flag from Leo’s belt.

            “Ha!” Mikey crowed triumphantly, jumping upright.  “Gotcha!”

            Leo started to smile as he stretched his hand towards Mikey.  In it lay Mikey’s flag.

            Mikey looked down at his belt, slapping the spot where his flag had been tied.  Somehow, Leo had managed to snag it without Mikey’s knowledge.

            “Looks like a tie,” Leo said.

            Staring at his older brother, Mikey suddenly burst out laughing.  Leo’s smile widened before he too was consumed by laughter.

            By the time Mikey’s laughter tapered off he had tears in his eyes.  Wiping them away with the back of his hand, he said, “I guess this means I don’t have to do your chores, right?”

            “You’re off the hook,” Leo acknowledged.  “The sound that drew me out, what . . .?”

            Mikey indicated the empty spot in his belt where his other nunchuck had been.

            “I tossed it down the hall,” Mikey said with a big grin.

            “That was pretty sneaky,” Leo said approvingly.

            “You did say trickery was allowed,” Mikey reminded him.  Before Leo could say anything further, Mikey said, “Oh shell, dude.  I almost forgot.”

            He reached into his belt and extracted his shell cell, flicking it open.

            “Mikey . . . .” Leo began.

            “I haven’t heard from Raph dude,” Mikey said.  “It’s been almost forty minutes.”

            Leo reached over and placed his hand on top of the cell phone’s screen.  Mikey glanced up at him, puzzled.

            “I heard from Donny,” Leo said by way of explanation.  “Trust me, they’re fine.”

            The look on Leo’s face clued Mikey in.  “Oh,” he said in a small voice.  “That’s why you paired them up.”

            “They need some alone time,” Leo said.  “Do you want to make our way back onto the roof, or wait here until they text?”

            “Dude, I’m so not going anywhere out there until we know they’re done with that ‘alone’ time,” Mikey said.  “I don’t wanna accidentally run across them.”

            Leo chuckled.  “You want to pick the lock on the executive suite here and see what it looks like?”

            Mikey perked up.  He loved to explore.  “Sure, just let me get my other nunchuck.”

            Dashing down the corridor, Mike was an orange blur of excitement.  Leo’s eyes followed him, enjoying the way his little brother moved.  Mikey was a dynamo of energy; an incredibly athletic bundle of raw talent and Leo never failed to be overwhelmed at the idea of Mikey’s potential.

            They didn’t have to pick the lock after all.  Pushing the doors open, the brothers entered a much more lush interior than the other office they’d been in.  The assistant’s desk was a huge mahogany behemoth set against the back wall and cushioned waiting chairs were arranged around small tables throughout the spacious area.

            “Dude,” Mikey said in an awed voice, “must be nice to be the king.”

            Leo laughed.  “Even covered in dust and cobwebs this is quite a show,” he agreed.

            “Let’s go look in the big guys private office,” Mikey said with a grin, moving towards the door marked ‘Private’.

            Leo trailed along behind his younger brother, soaking up Mikey’s enthusiasm as they investigated the company president’s office.  The place had been closed for a long while and most everything of importance or monetary worth had been removed, but it still held an opulence known to another time.

            Tiring of his exploration, Mikey settled down on the end of the gigantic meeting table that sat near a long bank of windows.  Leo pulled one of the padded chairs out and used his flag to dust off the seat before sitting down.

            “So~o,” Mikey began, “is Donny supposed to text you when they get done with their alone time?”

            Leo nodded.  “Yep.  I told him to take his time working things out with Raph.  I prefer it when they get along.”

            Mikey glanced over his shoulder at Leo and cleared his throat.  “How long does it usually take to um, ‘work things out’?” he asked.

            Leo lifted an eye ridge.  “It depends on how serious the misunderstanding was.”  He noticed the strange expression on Mikey’s face and said, “You know, we never get a chance to just talk.  We’re all of us so occupied with our own things outside of practice we’re aren’t connecting the way we did as children.  We could just talk while we’re waiting for Donny’s text.”

            Mikey’s guard went up immediately.  “What do you want to talk about?” he asked suspiciously.

            Leo got more comfortable in his chair.  “Whatever you want, Mikey.  I’m always telling you guys what to do, you have to be tired of hearing my voice.”

            “Your voice doesn’t bother me,” Mikey protested.

            Leo chuckled.  “Really?  Should I repeat exactly what you said to me yesterday morning when I woke you for practice?”

            “No dude,” Mikey said hastily.  “I’m not responsible for what I say when I’m half unconscious.”

            “That’s good to know,” Leo said, still smiling.  “You were definitely channeling Raphael.”

            A smile flickered across Mikey’s mouth and then he turned to stare off through a window.  Leo watched his profile, seeing how his jaw moved, giving away the fact that Mikey was in deep thought.  Leo remained silent, waiting.

            “Leo, tell me about it,” Mikey finally said in a quiet voice.

            “’It’?” Leo asked, wanting clarity.

            “You know what I’m talking about,” Mikey said, his expression serious.

            Leo was a little surprised that Mikey wanted to bring it up, but he decided not to dodge the subject anymore.

            “You want to know about the intimacy I share with our brothers, Mikey?” Leo asked.

            “About the sex,” Mikey stated bluntly.

            “No,” Leo said.

            Mikey jerked his head around to look directly at his older brother.

            “No?” Mikey asked incredulously.

            “You don’t need to hear about the mechanics of sex,” Leo told him.  “You know how it works and I’m not going to discuss that with you.  We didn’t start this because we wanted to have sex.  I used the word intimacy because that’s what this is for us.”

            “We aren’t close enough?” Mikey asked, somewhat rhetorically.  “We’re brothers.”

            “As brothers we are as close as any family could be,” Leo said.  “What we have transcends that; it goes deeper.  It touches who we are and the need to have someone to share everything with.  As brothers there are barriers between us; between our feelings.  Our intimacy removes those barriers and allows us to be completely honest with each other.”

            “I guess that’s what I don’t get,” Mikey admitted.  “I tell you guys everything already.”

            “And what about the things you don’t know about, Mikey?  The way things affect you, the different ways you interact with each of us, the parts of you that are immersed in the Michelangelo that you’ve decided to present to us.  There is another you, a subconscious you that’s buried because you have no outlet to release it.”

            “Maybe it doesn’t need releasing,” Mikey said.

            “Are you sure about that?” Leo asked, dipping his head to the side a bit as he studied Mikey.  “There were things about myself that I couldn’t get in touch with before; knowing them has helped my interactions with Raph, Don and even Master Splinter tremendously.”

            Mikey snorted lightly.  “Give me an example.”

            Leo’s face smoothed out until it was devoid of emotion; his hands flattening on the arms of his chair.  The faraway look in his eyes drew Mikey’s attention.

            “Raphael and I were arguing one evening,” Leo began.  “No surprise there.  We’d just had a running fight with a Foot patrol.  They surrounded us at one point, but there was a weakness in their formation and I took advantage of it.  I ordered Raph to retreat but he didn’t want to; he kept fighting and shouting at me to go, to leave him.  I wouldn’t of course, so we wound up shell to shell, battling hard until we backed the Foot off for a minute.  Somehow I convinced that stubborn hot head to make a break for it and we got the shell out of there.

            “In the sewers he turned on me and I saw just how furious he was.  He was yelling, I was yelling, and neither of us was listening.  Something cut through my angry fog finally and I realized at that moment that he wasn’t angry because he thought I wanted to retreat, he was angry because he thought I was going to be killed.”

            Mikey’s eyes never left Leo’s face.  His big brother’s stoicism always drew his admiration.

            “Raph had decided to stay and draw them off of me so that I could escape,” Leo was saying.  “He thought that I’d actually leave him.  When I said I never would, he told me in his most severe voice that he thought I was smart enough to know that warriors are expendable but leaders aren’t.

            “He was so furious at me for standing with him that he had tears in his eyes.  That got to me; the depth of feeling that Raph was displaying, the concern.  It wasn’t just about my being a brother to him.

            “I wish I could properly describe the emotions that revelation brought on.  They filled my chest and swelled my neck so that I was afraid I might burst.  Powerful, hot headed, psycho Raphael – his whole universe is us.  All of those years I spent believing him to be a self-centered, egotistical brute that occupied himself with body building just so he could show us up in a fight.  It wasn’t anything like that at all.  He just didn’t ever want to fail us; he was driven by the fear that he wouldn’t be strong enough for us.”

            Now Mikey could see Leo’s inscrutable façade start to crack.  His brow furrowed and his voice dipped to a husky whisper.

            “I didn’t even think about what I was doing; I went on instinct.  I grabbed the back of his head and swallowed his anger with my mouth.

            “I was holding him tight because I thought he’d pull away and punch me, but he didn’t.  Raph wrapped his arms around me and kissed back.  His whole body was shaking, my heart was pounding and that kiss continued until we both let go of our resentment and anger.”

            Leo blinked and looked up at his brother.  “We went further that night, Mikey.  Neither of us questioned what we were doing because we _needed_ it and it felt right.  We have to have what that intimacy does for us.  It makes us equals.  It connects us on a different level and helps Raph understand exactly how much he means to me.

            “Raph approached Don several weeks later because Raph’s always been in love with him.  Raph didn’t know what those feelings were until we awakened that new aspect of ourselves.  It turned out that Don needed that from us too.”

            Leo stopped talking and turned to stare at the tabletop, his mind still locked in his memory.  Mikey waited a minute to see if Leo was going to continue speaking.  When it became obvious that his brother was finished, Mikey felt a sudden flash of hurt feelings.

            “And then you guys decided not to talk to me about it,” Mikey accused him.

            “It was all about timing, Mikey,” Leo said quietly, slowly turning his eyes up to his brother.  “Don has tried to bring it up but you’ve backed him down each time, once fairly harshly.  He felt a great deal of anguished guilt over that and when Don is in pain, Raph hurts as well.”

            “Oh,” Mikey said, suddenly understanding why Raph and Don needed the ‘alone’ time.

            Leo’s shell cell buzzed and he stood up as he glanced at the screen.  “They’re going to meet us on the roof,” Leo said.  Looking up at Mikey, he added, “You needn’t worry too much about them, Mikey.  They’re learning to communicate their true feelings to each other.  Trying to explain our actions to you has made them take a closer look at themselves.  Don’t be afraid to tell them to back off if you need to.”

            Mikey jumped off of the table, not sure what to say to that.

            “Um, I guess I’ll try to be less critical,” he said.  “Thanks for sharing that story with me, Leo.  Makes me feel kinda embarrassed to have been so quick to judge what you guys are doing.”

            “You shouldn’t be embarrassed, Mikey.  That is absolutely the last thing we ever wanted to do to you,” Leo said.

            “Okay,” Mikey said with a bright smile.

            He was starting to feel a lot better about the changing situation between his brothers.  If they kept it low key and he went about business as usual, it might not mess anything up after all.

            Leo tapped his shoulder.  “Mikey, you’ve got dirt all over your  . . . your back end and legs,” Leo told him.

            Mikey twisted his body, trying to see behind himself.  He took a swipe at his rear and tail before he suddenly felt Leo flicking the cloth flag across the backs of his thighs.

            A quick flush of heat swarmed up Mikey’s body as Leo bent down next to him, the piece of cloth in his brother’s fingers tickling sensitive areas of skin.  When the material grazed the spot where his rear curved into his thighs, Mikey’s eyes slid shut involuntarily and he bit back a groan of pleasure.

            That should not have felt as good as it did and he tried to step away from Leo to make his brother stop.  The only problem was that Mikey’s legs disagreed with the decision and wouldn’t budge.

            “Got most of it,” Leo announced, stepping away from him and moving towards the door.  “I think we’re all going to have to hit the showers when we get back to the lair.”

            “Right,” Mikey managed to say. 

            Now that Leo was no longer touching him, Mikey found himself wishing his brother hadn’t stopped.  He was finding that he liked having Leo near him; that he liked being the center of Leo’s world.

            Mikey was also discovering that he enjoyed Leo’s touch.  He enjoyed it in ways that he never dreamt he would.  And that was of course completely wrong and perverted.

            Wasn’t it?

TBC……………….


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,791  
> Rated: R

            Mikey jerked out of the dream with a startled cry, warmth flooding his lower plastron.  Chest heaving, Mikey lifted a hand to cover his eyes as his dwindling erection twisted and twitched through the final throes of completion.

            Working to calm his pounding heart, Mikey took a deep, shuddering breath.  He’d had wet dreams before, but never anything like this.

            Shame brought a heated flush to his cheeks.  In his dream, Leonardo had been cleaning him, just as he had done on two previous occasions.  With carefully measured strokes, his brother had seemed to touch every sensitive nerve ending in Mikey’s body.

            As much as Michelangelo tried, he could not contain the erection that resulted from his brother’s arousing touch.

            In his dream, Leo had smiled at him and then wrapped a warm hand around Mikey’s cock.  Without saying a word, Leo had frozen Mikey in place with his mesmerizing amber eyes and then had begun pumping Mikey’s swollen, needy flesh.

            Mikey pulled his hand away from his face and reached for the box of tissues on his bed side table.  As he cleaned and tucked himself in, Mikey realized that this was the first wet dream he actually remembered.

            Every other time he’d awakened with only a vague residual warmth leftover from the dream but nothing more concrete.  Was it possible that all of those times he had dreamt of his brother as well?

            Flipping onto his side with a low groan, Mikey told himself that the dream was meaningless; a simple reaction to outside stimuli and the excitement of hunting his brother earlier in the evening.

            It hadn’t helped that even with a pillow over his head he could still hear the low moans and muffled cries coming from Raph’s room.  This time it had been Don’s eyes that held the challenge and the genius who had pulled an eagerly grinning Raphael into the bedroom.

            Neither of them paid the slightest attention to Mikey as their whole focus appeared to be on each other.  Mikey had no idea that his brothers could be so insatiable; maybe that was all teenage hormones or mutated turtle genes.

            Whatever.  At least they were quiet now.  Leo hadn’t joined them tonight; instead he had shared a tolerant glance with Mikey as he too watched Don lead Raph away from them.

            Mikey wondered what Leo did to ignore the sounds of pleasure coming out of Raph’s room earlier.  Did he meditate, his lights out and his mind so inwardly focused that the sounds didn’t even register?  Maybe he was able to ignore them and fall asleep; after all, that sex thing wasn’t anything new to the oldest brother.

            Or maybe Leo lay on his carapace, his hand drifting down to rub at the softer cartilage between his legs until he coaxed himself out of hiding.  Maybe he let the soft churrs and guttural grunts stir his imagination as he stroked his length to orgasm.

            Mikey could picture Leo laying there, strong legs spread; the total concentration on his face exactly the look that always drew Mikey to his leader.  He could even see Leo reaching for him, guiding him as Mikey pushed his erection into the tight heat of Leo’s body.

            “Shell,” Mikey said out loud and rolled back onto his carapace.  It was bad enough to dream about his brother; after all he couldn’t really control a dream.

            But now he was actively thinking about having sex with Leo and damned if he wasn’t starting to harden again.  Apparently, insatiable wasn’t confined to Raph and Don.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            It was the sound of Leo’s voice that woke Mikey the next morning.  His brother was calling to him to get up now if he wanted to eat breakfast before practice began.

            Mikey threw his legs over the side of the mattress and hopped up before he gave himself a chance to think about shifting into a more comfortable spot on the bed.  He was tired; he hadn’t slept much after his dream about Leo, too afraid that it would repeat itself.

            In the bathroom Mikey took care of routine business and then splashed cold water on his face to help wake him up.  Looking at himself in the mirror, he frowned and muttered, “Mikey, you are one sick puppy.  You _really_ need to talk to April about letting you live in her storeroom.”

            Don and Raph were seated at the kitchen table when he entered the room.  Raph was working his way through a large bowl of cereal and Don was concentrating on digging out portions of a grapefruit.  Leo stood near the oven as he poured himself a cup of tea.

            “Hey Leo, ya’ didn’t have ta call him twice this morning,” Raph announced as he glanced up and saw Mikey drag through the doorway.

            “Miracle of miracles, I didn’t have to call you twice either,” Leo said dryly.

            “That’s only ‘cause certain parts of the genius here woke up early and requested a little acti…ow!” Raph yelped as Don kicked his foot under the table.

            Mikey rolled his eyes and opened a cabinet in search of a clean cup.

            “Geez, it ain’t as if he’s clueless anymore,” Raph complained.

            “I don’t necessarily want it rubbed in my face either,” Mikey said as he moved to another cabinet.  “I need coffee, where are all the cups?” he asked.

            “Probably in Donny’s lab or on the coffee table in the TV room,” Leo answered.  “Try this cabinet, top shelf.”

            Mikey moved up next to Leo and swung open the door of the cabinet Leo had indicated.  By stretching to his full height, he could reach the stack of cups that were inside.

            “Found some,” Mikey said, pulling down a cup.  “I’m so not picking up the dirty ones dudes, ‘cause I didn’t make the mess this time,” he warned.

            “It’s okay,” Don said softly, “most of them are mine and I’ll take care of it after practice.”

            “Mikey, while you’ve got that cabinet open, could you find the other canister of tea?  I’m fairly certain someone put it up there,” Leo said.

            Raph snorted.  “Sucks being the shortest don’t it, Leo?”

            “Remind me of that next time you have to take the long way out of a building because you don’t fit into the crawl spaces anymore,” Leo retorted.

            Mikey leaned against the counter as he rose up on the balls of his feet to try to get a better look into the cabinet.  His fingers tapped around on the shelf, feeling for the canister that Leo had requested.

            “I don’t know if it’s here, dude,” Mikey said.  “I don’t see or feel it.”

            “Hold on,” Leo moved around behind him, using a hand on Mikey’s carapace to brace himself as he stretched up for a look.

            Mikey felt Leo’s thigh brush against his tail and his breath caught.  Squeezing his eyes shut, he managed to overpower the shiver that threatened to take a run down his spine.  His traitorous tail, enjoying the feeling of Leo’s hard muscles touching it, began to wiggle back and forth.

            “I can see it Mikey,” Leo said, apparently oblivious to Mikey’s discomfort.  “It’s a little further back.”

            Mikey spent another second trying to talk his tail into lying flat, but it refused to follow commands.  In fact, as Leo shifted a bit, his leg pressed further into Mikey’s excited appendage.  Flashes of his dream came back to Mikey in a rush and he practically leaped into the cabinet as he groped for the elusive canister.

            “Got it!” he shouted in triumph, a little louder than necessary.

            Leo moved around to stand next to Mikey as he pulled the canister down.  Turning to hand it to Leo, Mikey found his brother only inches away.

            Swallowing audibly, Mikey stared into Leo’s amber eyes for a moment, at a complete loss as to what he should say or do.  Already overly excited by the stimulation to his tail, Mikey felt his dick twitch as Leo’s heat and musk overtook his senses.

            “Thanks bro’,” Leo said with a smile, taking the canister from Mikey’s hands and stepping back towards the stove.

            “S . . .sure,” Mikey stammered and then bit his tongue, casting a furtive glance at Raph and Don.

            Neither of them appeared to have noticed his discomfiture; Raph was in the process of helping himself to a portion of Don’s grapefruit.  Mikey quickly turned to face the counter, grabbing the coffeepot and filling his cup.  The first gulp of the too hot liquid burned his tongue and put a fast end to the problem between his legs.

            “Meet me in the dojo when you guys are finished,” Leo said as he started to leave the kitchen.  “Come in together, please.  I’ve created a little challenge for this morning’s exercise.”

            Don looked up at his brother’s retreating form and then over at Raph who winked at him.  Having gotten himself under control again, Mikey dug out a couple of slices of cold pizza from the refrigerator and joined his siblings at the table.

            The three younger brothers had no idea what to expect when they stepped into the dojo but were surprised to find that the lights had been turned out.  A grouping of candles stood in one corner, the only illumination in the large space.

            They could see, even in the sparse lighting, that nearly the entire floor space was covered in thick, upright bamboo poles.

            When they didn’t see Leo, Don reached over to the nearest light switch but found it had been covered in masking tape.

            “No lights,” Leo said quietly, stepping out of a shadowed corner.

            “What is all this?” Raph asked.

            “Are we gonna perch on top of these things in the dark again?” Mikey asked.  “’Cause last time Master Splinter tried to teach us this trick, Casey came barreling in here and nearly killed all of us.”

            “And then Master Splinter almost killed him,” Don said with a laugh.

            Leo smiled at the memory and then shook his head.  “We won’t be working on balance today, but we are going to continue with a lesson on the way of invisibility.”

            Holding out his hand, he showed them a small silver bell.  Lifting it gingerly, he gave it a slight shake and was rewarded by a surprisingly loud jingle.

            “One of these is balanced on top of each bamboo pole,” Leo explained.  “Somewhere in that maze are three gold colored ones.  I asked Master Splinter to place them so that I wouldn’t know where they were.”

            “Is this like musical chairs?” Mikey asked facetiously.  “The one who doesn’t get a bell is the ninja dropout?”

            “Not quite,” Leo said.  “Actually, I think Klunk would appreciate this challenge since it’s a modified form of ‘cat and mouse’.”

            “Totally lost here, Leo,” Raph said.

            Leaping high into the air, Leo placed the bell in his hand atop the pole closest to him and then landed silently before continuing to explain.

            “We will all start at a different spot at the edge of this maze, each spot marked by a piece of tape with your initial on it.  Consider that the goal line,” Leo told them.  “Your job is to enter the maze, locate a golden bell and then exit the maze without a sound.  If you so much as brush against a pole, you’ll make the bell on it ring.

            “Making the bell ring would be a bad idea since while you three are trying to find a bell I’m going to be hunting for you.”

            “So we find a gold bell and then get out of the maze before you find us?” Don asked.

            “Are ya’ gonna be blindfolded or something?” Raph wanted to know.

            Leo crossed over to the candles, a small smile playing across his lips as he turned to look at his brothers.  “Or something,” he said and blew out two of the candles.

            “Oh shell,” Mikey said.

            “We’re supposed to navigate this maze, find a bell and get out in total darkness?” Don asked incredulously.

            “In total darkness and total silence,” Leo corrected.  “I’ll give you a hint, the gold bells are on the floor somewhere in there.  When you’ve found one of the bells, return with it to your starting spot and then ring it a couple of times.  That will let me know which of you is safe.

            “If I catch you anywhere inside the maze, whether or not you’ve recovered your gold bell, you stay where you are until the challenge is completed by everyone.  You get to become one of the obstacles in the maze, so to speak.”

            “And the losers do extra chores for a week I suppose,” Raph said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

            “No, actually this challenge comes with a reward,” Leo said, choosing to ignore the mild sneer in Raph’s voice.  “Those of you who reach freedom will only be required to do one hour of meditation per week for a month.”

            “Yes!” Mikey yelled and then clapped his hand over his mouth.  With a grin, he spoke through his fingers to say, “I’m all over this challenge dude.”

            “One final thing,” Leo said as his brothers moved into their respective positions around the maze, “you pick up one bell only.  This is not a teamwork drill, it’s each turtle for himself.  After the lights go out, I’ll give you a thirty second head start before I begin to play ‘cat’.”

            Mikey took a long, hard look at his entry point, memorizing the position of the bamboo poles.  Leo was to his left, standing close to the three candles that were still burning.

            The flickering light bathed the oldest brother’s forest green skin in a warm glow, although the shadows already seemed to be moving to surround Leonardo. His richly gleaming amber eyes were the only part of Leo’s face Mikey could still see.

            Mikey shook his head and blinked, certain it was an optical illusion caused by lack of sleep.  As he watched, Mikey could almost see the blackness creeping over Leo’s shoulders to blot his form from view.

            And then Leo exhaled and the remaining candles were extinguished.

            Underground, in an enclosed room without illumination was about as dark as you could get.  Mikey had read somewhere that people had been known to go crazy in a very short period of time while trapped in total darkness.  He could completely understand why.

            Wasting no more time, Mikey entered the maze, carefully slipping between bamboo poles without jostling them, going by memory alone for the first few feet.

            After that he used his ki, travelling past the obstacles with his own personal echolocation.  All of his senses were on high alert knowing that Leo had by now moved into the maze.

            Mikey had gone only a few more steps when he froze, positive that he’d heard a sound nearby.  He was sure it couldn’t be Leo; there was no way his big brother had made any type of noise so he guessed that the sound had been made by either Raph or Don.

            When it wasn’t repeated, Mikey decided that he should continue his search.  Prolonging his stay inside the maze would only give Leo a greater opportunity for locating him.

            Locating _him_.  Without moving, Mikey followed that train of thought.  Leo had said they couldn’t help each other, but nothing was mentioned about not throwing someone else under the bus.  After all, as Leo had said, this wasn’t a teamwork exercise.

            With a sly grin, Mikey pulled out his shell cell and quickly shut off its light.  Making sure the sound was muted, he punched in a number.

            Don had mentally calculated the distance required between each pole based on the circumference of their body mass with its large shell.  Knowing the size of the dojo and the space that Leo had used to set up his maze told Donatello how many bamboo poles had most likely been used for this challenge.

            It had taken him less than a minute to visualize every possible pattern for the placement of the poles and since he’d had a few seconds to study the poles that were in front of him at his entry point, he knew which pattern Leo had used.

            Moving with confident speed through the maze, all Don needed to do was find one gold bell.  Focusing his ki on finding that one object left his other senses open so that he could avoid being caught.  Don was feeling pretty good about his possibilities for success.

            He’d only forgotten one thing.

            When Don’s shell cell started to ring he nearly jumped out of his skin.  Fumbling for it in his belt, he yanked it out and swiftly muted the device.  If he was prone to cursing, he would have let a few choice words fly, but instead he moved as fast as he dared away from the spot where he’d been standing.

            He managed to take four steps before strong arms circled him from behind and halted his forward progress.

            “Technology can also work against you, Donny,” Leo whispered, his hot breath blowing along the side of Don’s neck.  “Don’t make a sound and don’t move; you are now a statue.”

            Before Don had a chance to blink, Leo kissed the side of his neck and vanished.  With a heavy sigh, Don shifted into a more comfortable stance and waited.

            Raph’s head jerked around upon hearing a slight sound from the far side of the maze.  His hand instinctively swept down to the grip on his sai but he stopped short of pulling it out of his belt, remembering that he was in the lair.

            Adrenaline was pumping into his veins just as it always did when Raph was involved in any type of competition with Leo.  He knew damn well it wasn’t rational to always feel like he had to prove his worth, but that didn’t change the fact that he got intense satisfaction out of beating his nearly perfect older brother at anything.

            In fact, despite having told Don that he’d orchestrated the entire seduction of Michelangelo challenge so that Leo would pursue their younger brother, Raph still felt the desire to take a shot at claiming Mikey for himself.  Some basic instincts were just really hard to overcome.

            Mikey smiled in satisfaction as he realized he’d located Raph.  His hot headed brother had an unconscious habit of stroking the leather wrap on the grips of his sai when he was anxious.  The low rasping sound of Raph’s rough fingers playing over that leather was plenty loud enough to hunt by.

            Hunting for his brother was exactly what Mikey was doing.  Nothing in the rules said he couldn’t track down his siblings while also trying to find one of those elusive gold bells and it was a move Mikey was pretty sure Leo wouldn’t be expecting.  Keeping Leo occupied with hunting for the easy prey would hopefully buy Mikey enough time to find his prize and escape with it.

            Hunkered down close to the dojo floor, Mikey remained motionless while his sharp hearing tracked Raph’s movements.  Fairly certain that Leo had taken the bait of the ringing shell cell, Mikey figured he’d bought himself a couple of extra minutes.  Now he just needed to figure out how to draw Leo to Raph’s position.

            Creeping forward while squatting, Mikey began pacing Raph.  While he was doing that, Mikey sent out a flow of his inner energy, his ki, to bathe the floor in search of a change in the flat pattern of the ground.

            Maybe it was because his energy levels were higher than his brothers or because he was closer to the ground, but just as he was about to make a turn to keep up with Raph, Mikey’s ki bounced a signal back to him.

            Ignoring Raph for a moment, Mikey came down on his hands and knees and crawled towards the invisible spot just ahead of him.  His fingers slid forward slowly and connected with a smooth, cool object.  It was one of the bells.

            Mikey fought down his exaltation and took a deep calming breath.  Sure that his hands wouldn’t shake from excitement, Mikey gently lifted the bell and then stuck the tip of one finger inside to prevent the clapper from striking metal.

            All that was left to do was to get out of the maze.  Sitting back on his haunches, Mikey bit off a piece of the tip of one of his bandana tails and carefully wadded it up inside the bell before tucking it safely into his belt.

            He was by no means home free; he could easily encounter Leo while trying to make his way to safety.  Mikey decided his initial plan was still sound; send Leo after Raph and while the oldest was occupied with that pursuit, Mikey would make a dash for freedom.

            Maintaining his creeping position, Mikey inched forward quickly to catch up with Raph.  Just as his ears picked up the slightest hint of a rasping noise, Mikey also sensed another presence nearby.

            Freezing to complete immobility, Mikey inwardly cursed his luck.  He knew that the other presence he felt was Leo’s and that Leo had tracked Raph on his own.  Mikey must have made some minute sound and now his oldest brother was waiting for some indicator to tell him which way to turn.

            Raph must have also sensed Leo’s nearness because there were no more sounds coming from him.  Mikey had one advantage; he knew exactly where Raph was standing and apparently Leo did not.

            Knowing this tableau couldn’t remain at a standstill forever, Mikey made a quick decision.  Stripping his mask from his head, he rolled it into a tight ball but was careful to ensure that the ends didn’t tangle.

            Lifting his arm high, Mikey reared back and pitched his makeshift ‘ball’ straight at Raph’s head.

            Raphael had come to a complete stop as soon as he knew someone was stalking him.  There was no sound, no rush of air or change in the searching current of the energy signal he emitted, but he sensed the presence nonetheless.

            It wasn’t someone intent on looking for a gold bell either; the presence had a deeper intent.  Since it had to be Leo, Raph knew that his slightest movement would be fatal.  He settled into an immobile state and prepared to wait his brother out.

            Then something soft fluttered down from above him and wrapped itself around Raph’s head.

            With a startled grunt, Raph reached up to swat at the object before realizing his mistake.  Bending low, he darted between two bamboo poles, moving as fast as he dared in an attempt to throw off his pursuer.

            Mikey heard Raph’s frantic movement as the rolled up mask opened in mid-air and landed on him.  He also heard the scrape of Raph’s heels as the red banded turtle took off as though shot from a cannon.

            It wasn’t Raph’s sounds that Mikey was listening for though; it was Leo’s.  Of course he heard nothing, but a wash of air swept over him as Leo ran past Mikey’s hiding place.

            Satisfied that Leo was safely occupied in his chase after Raph, Mikey stood up and focused his attention on escaping the bamboo pole maze.

            Winding his way past the poles, Mikey’s senses were on full alert.  He could no longer hear the sounds of Raph’s flight and didn’t know if that was because he was immobile by choice, or if Leo had caught him.

            A few feet from an exit point, Mikey heard a curse and then a low moan.  Good, maybe Leo was taking a reward from his captive that would give the youngest several more precious seconds.

            Mikey made it past the poles and then dashed towards the goal line, his feet hardly touching the ground as he ran.

            His peripheral vision barely registered a darker slice of pitch blackness sweeping towards him from the right and then he heard the swish of air that chased the shadow.  Mikey’s heart jumped into his throat as he raced what he knew to be his big brother.

            Fingertips brushed against his carapace, lost their hold and then Mikey felt something snatch at the edge of his shell.  Digging into his belt, Mikey yanked the bell free and shook it hard enough to dislodge the fabric wedged inside the dome.

            The loud, clear sound echoed in the dojo as a pair of solid arms surrounded Mikey’s body and pulled him to a stop.

            Breathing hard, Mikey felt Leo’s grip tighten as though his brother expected an escape attempt.  Leo pressed closer against him, the sound of plastron scraping against carapace very loud in the dark room.

            Unfortunately, the sound was also more seductive than Mikey remembered it ever being before.  He could feel Leo’s hands pressed flat against his scutes, moving slightly as Mikey’s chest rose and fell while he tried to catch his breath.

            Neither of them said anything.  Mikey had no idea what was going on in Leo’s mind; maybe he was waiting for Mikey to admit defeat.  All that Mikey knew was that they were in total darkness and Leo’s body seemed to have curved around him, bringing back every tiny bit of Mikey’s erotic dream from the night before.

            The snap of a match and the hiss of a flame coming to life broke the spell and Mikey saw that Don was lighting one of the candles.  Raph was standing next to him, staring at Leo and Mikey with a face completely devoid of expression.

            “I caught you, Mikey,” Leo finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.  He did not relinquish his hold.

            “Sorry dude, but I win this time,” Mikey said, his voice just as low.  He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t want to move just yet.

            “The rules were that you had to make it to your starting spot and then ring the bell before I caught you,” Leo said.  “Ringing the bell alone doesn’t grant you immunity.”

            Mikey smiled, enjoying the feel of Leo’s breath tickling his shoulder and drifting over his collarbone.  By now his breathing should have returned to normal, but he found he couldn’t quite get it under control.  He was also sure that Leo had to be able to feel how hard his heart was pounding in his chest.

            “Look down, Leo,” Mikey told him.

            Leaning to the side and letting his hands slide down Mikey’s body until they flattened against his hips, Leo saw what his brother was trying to point out.

            The toes on Mikey’s left foot were over the line drawn on the masking tape emblazoned with a big letter ‘M’.

            Squeezing Mikey’s body one last time, Leo released his hold and stepped back.  Mikey turned and looked at him, trying hard to see past the enigmatic expression on Leo’s face.  A slight curve twitched at the corners of Leo’s mouth before lifting into a pleased smile.

            Don and Raph joined them then.  Raph draped an arm over Leo’s shoulders and turned a cockeyed grin on Mikey.  Don was shaking his head and wearing a smile of his own.

            “Mikey, did you call my phone?” Don asked.

            Mikey shrugged.  “I was sorta hoping you forgot to turn it off dude.”

            Don started laughing while Raph leaned forward and said, “Ya’ threw your mask at me ya’ little shit.”

            “Totally not my fault you freak out if you think a fly is after you,” Mikey teased.

            “We never knew you were so mercenary,” Don said.

            “Aw shell, Donny, you like to meditate and Raph needs to,” Mikey said in explanation.  “My psyche, on the other hand, is perfectly balanced.  Meditating an hour a week is more than enough.”

            Raph took his arm off Leo’s shoulder and reached over to tap Mikey’s forehead.  “You’re a shamelessly underhanded nut ball, ya’ know that?  I gotta give ya’ credit though, ya’ played us good.  And since ya’ won, I say ya’ get the pleasure of helping Leo put away all those bamboo poles.”

            “I second that motion,” Don said, turning to follow Raph who was already on his way out of the dojo.

            For once Mikey didn’t complain.  His eyes found Leo’s again and he couldn’t help the anticipatory shiver that shook his thighs and curled his toes.  Staying close to Leonardo was all he wanted to do at the moment and Mikey didn’t even care that he was going to have to do some work to achieve that goal.

            Maybe if he maneuvered things right, he could make Leo accidently brush up against his tail one more time.

TBC…………………..


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 3,417  
> Rated: R

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This image was created by the very imaginative ashitarimai from DeviantArt  
> 

            Don stood in the doorway of Raph’s room, watching his brother pump iron.  Not inclined to go back into the dojo until Leo’s ‘game’ had been put away, Raph contented himself with focusing on specific muscle groups, using the lighter set of free weights he kept upstairs.

            There were plenty of projects that awaited Don’s attention, but he wasn’t in the mood to focus on them just then.  He wanted company; more specifically Raph’s company, and staring at his brother’s bulging muscles was an added bonus.

            As if reading his mind, Raph asked, “Like what ya’ see, Donny?”

            “Actually, yes,” Don answered without the slightest embarrassment.  If his mind weren’t so preoccupied with other thoughts, he might have jumped Raph then and there.

            Raph knew him so well.  “Obviously ya’ ain’t here for a mid-morning quickie.  Got something on your mind?” he asked.

            “Tea canister,” Don answered.

            Standing up from his weight bench, Raph stretched and then grinned at his brother.  “Oh, ya’ mean the one that was conveniently on a shelf too high up for Leo ta reach?”

            “Did you put it up there?” Don asked suspiciously.

            Raph snorted, kneeling on the bench as he worked his triceps.  “Why would I be helping Fearless out like that?”

            “Because you want to help him awaken Mikey’s sexuality?” Don guessed.

            “Ri~ght,” Raph said, pausing in his routine to look at Don.  “Let’s say that someone needs ta do it, but I’m sure as hell not tipping my hand ta Leo by suddenly offering ta help him win Mikey over.”

            “You want Leo to continue to work hard in his quest for Mikey, that’s what you told me,” Don said.

            “Best way I’ve found ta make Leo work is ta challenge his ass,” Raph said complacently.

            Don studied his brother, who went back to his workout.  “You’re going to keep trying to claim Mikey for yourself, aren’t you?”

            Raph glanced up.  “Think about how much fun we could have with him,” he said, his eyes gleaming.  “You’ve seen the way he moves.”

            “Your methods are more apt to scare him away again,” Don reminded his brother.

            “Then I guess I’ll have ta change my methods,” Raph said lightly.

            Don laughed.  “Sometimes the way your mind works is frightening,” he said.

            “Oh yeah, Donny?  ‘S that why ya’ find me so fascinating?” Raph asked smugly, setting his free weight on the floor.

            “Nope,” Don said as he grinned.  “I thought you already figured out it was your big muscles.”

            “Come ‘ere and I’ll show ya’ a big muscle,” Raph said with a leer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Leo could feel Mikey’s eyes on him as they worked to stack the bamboo poles into the crate Don had built to hold them.

            Each time he would glance up though, Mikey would quickly look away.  His youngest brother was working shoulder to shoulder with him, seemingly unwilling to put more than a couple of feet between them.

            Leo smiled to himself.  Getting Mikey used to his touch was a small part of his plan; having his brother begin to crave it was a bigger part.  It seemed to be working.

            Instead of running off to play a video game once they had completed the task, Mikey shuffled his feet and looked at everything except Leo.

            “Did you want to ask me something, Mikey?”  Leo couldn’t help but notice Mikey’s relief when he posed the question.

            “I was just wondering what you were gonna do now,” Mikey said in an offhand manner, his blue eyes finally reaching up to connect with Leo’s.

            “Actually, I was planning to meditate,” Leo said with the ghost of a smile.

            “Oh.”  Mikey seemed to debate that answer and Leo waited.  “Could I join you?” Mikey asked, then hastily added, “I’ve gotta do one hour this week anyway so I might as well get it over with.”

            “Of course,” Leo told him.

            As Mikey unfolded one of their tatami mats, Leo brought several candles over and placed them to either side of he and Mikey.

            Holding up the incense, Leo asked, “Yes or no?  I know you don’t care for scent all that much.”

            Mikey made a face.  “Get something other than sandalwood next time, dude.  It reminds me of Master Splinter and I keep expecting him to yell at me for not sitting up straight.  You have no idea how hard it is to concentrate when you’re worried about his cane rapping you on the head.”

            Leo chuckled and put the incense away.  Mikey waited until Leo had lit the candles and seated himself on the mat before settling down next to his older brother.  That he was sitting a little closer than usual didn’t escape Leo’s notice, but he didn’t say anything.

            As Leo closed his eyes he sensed rather than saw Mikey shifting a bit more.  Pretending to be deep into his meditative state, Leo remained immobile as the side of Mikey’s hand came into contact with his.

            That’s when Leo noticed that Mikey’s scent was much stronger than usual.  In fact, the smell was so arousing that Leo had difficulty concentrating, although he worked hard to keep up the pretense of being entranced.

            Leo doubted that Mikey spent even a moment of his hour in meditation actually doing so.  For his part, Leo spent the time constructing a scenario that would bring him even closer to his youngest brother.

            His plan wasn’t something that could be put into play until evening.  Sometime before nightfall Leo needed to extricate himself from Mikey’s attentions in order to gather a few needed supplies.

            When his hour was up, Mikey opened his eyes and glanced over at Leo.  His brother, completely immobile, looked as though he was miles away.

            Feeling bold, Mikey rolled onto his knees and stared hard at Leo’s face.  He had never truly studied any of his brother’s features, but he suddenly wanted badly to know everything there was to know about Leonardo.

            His eyes traced over Leo’s skin, wondering about faint scars he noticed for the first time on his brother’s cheek.  Mikey watched Leo’s eyelids flicker slightly and found himself curious about what his brother saw when he meditated.

            Leaning a bit closer, Mikey could feel Leo’s exhale tickle his chin.  Leo’s mouth fascinated him; usually set in a firm line, or curved downwards from intense concentration, Mikey found that his brother’s lips were actually a bit more full than he’d ever realized.

            Mikey liked Leo’s voice; both his regular speaking voice and his command voice.  Now Mikey remembered that whenever Leo talked he’d find himself watching Leo’s mouth.  The smooth even voice was both soothing and reassuring at the same time, one of the reasons Mikey always asked Leo to read to him when they were kids.

            Leo’s command voice was another matter altogether.  Mikey’s eyes roamed down to his brother’s neck and he tried to figure out how Leo managed to put such strength and vigor into his words when his normal tone was so smooth.  However he did it, the command voice always made Mikey move his shell.

            Thinking about it made Mikey shiver.  That command voice was so intensely virile that Mikey decided it had to be an alpha male thing.  Achieving that tone had to be tied into Leo’s internal drive for leadership.  Mikey also wondered how many nights he’d awakened with a stiff boner after having heard Leo’s command voice.  That could certainly explain a lot of things.

            Looking at Leo’s arms, Mikey had to suppress the urge to trace the pattern of veins along his brother’s bicep.  Leo’s muscles were more sinewy than Raphael’s, but that didn’t mean he was any less strong.  Mikey had found that out for himself when Leo had wrapped them around him earlier.

            Flicking his tongue across his lips, Mikey eyed the numerous scars that covered Leo’s arms, shoulders and plastron.  They were a testament to how frequently Leo rushed into battle against enemies who wielded swords as sharp as his own.  Luckily, the arms that held them weren’t nearly as skilled as Leo’s.

            That didn’t mean his brother left a battle unscathed.  In fact, it was rare that Leo walked away from a fight without at least a nick of some sort as a souvenir.  Mikey wondered if Leo could recall where he acquired his scars, at least some of the larger ones.  He could guess that Leo kept them catalogued in his brain, studying what he had done wrong to allow someone close enough to wound him.

            Mikey looked down at Leo’s thighs and saw the crisscrossed pattern of scars that embellished them as well.  He remember one fight where Raph literally carried Leo home, slung over his shoulder as blood soaked the mask that he’d wrapped around Leo’s thigh in an attempt to stop the bleeding until he could get home to Don.

            The memory brought back the surge of fear that Mikey had felt looking down at Leo’s pale face while Don grimly worked to suture the wound before any more of their oldest brother’s life could run out of him.  He recalled how Leo’s eyes had flickered open and caught Mikey’s, and the slight smile of reassurance he had flashed so that Mikey wouldn’t be so scared.

            Scars.  So many scars.  Leo his leader, his protector, his oldest brother.  Leo his everything.  Mikey was beginning to understand what Leo had been trying to tell him with that story about how he and Raph had become lovers.

            Leo stirred and Mikey sat back on his heels quickly.  When Leo’s eyes opened, Mikey had an innocent expression plastered on his face.

            Glancing up at the clock on the wall, Leo said, “I thought you were only going to meditate for an hour, Mikey.  It’s been almost two.”

            “I sorta lost track of time I guess,” Mikey admitted sheepishly.  “Can I count this towards next week’s hour?”

            “Spoken like a true opportunist,” Leo said with a laugh.  “Let’s see how you do in practice the rest of the week.  If your focus is good, then I might let you talk me into that.”

            “’kay,” Mikey said, bounding to his feet.  “Wanna have some lunch?  I’ll cook.”

            “That’s a deal I’ll never turn down,” Leo said, rising a bit more sedately.  “I’ll put this stuff away and join you in the kitchen.”

            Mikey flashed him a wide grin and sped off.  Leo watched him go, more than a little happy with how the day was progressing.  He had felt Mikey hovering over him; had felt Mikey’s breath as it danced across his skin.  Mikey’s musk at that distance was overwhelmingly seductive and it was all Leo could do not to grab his brother’s shoulders and pull him into a kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            After lunch Leo had gone into Master Splinter’s room for his daily consultation and their ritual afternoon tea.  Mikey cleaned up the kitchen absentmindedly, feeling the loss of Leo’s company acutely.

            Walking out of the kitchen, Mikey surveyed the lair, trying to think of some sort of distraction to occupy his time.  He wasn’t in the mood for television, nor for video games.  In fact, he felt like his body was full of excess energy that he couldn’t figure out how to disperse.

            He heard the elevator door open and then a grunt followed by a low curse.  Turning in that direction, he saw Raph half carrying, half dragging a large weight machine into the lair.

            Looking up, Raph spotted Mikey.  “How ‘bout a little help here, bro’?”

            Mikey moved over to one end while Raph grabbed the other and between them they lifted the heavy machine, carrying it into the dojo and over to the side of the room devoted to the exercise equipment they’d scrounged.

            “What is this thing?” Mikey asked, patting the torn seat and lifting a puff of dust.

            “It’s a leg press,” Raph said triumphantly.  “Me and Donny found it the last time we went to the junk yard.  He welded it back together in the garage and now I’m gonna tape the seat up and it’ll be good as new.”

            “Except that there aren’t any weights attached to it,” Mikey pointed out.

            “They’re up in the garage still,” Raph said.  “This bitch was heavy enough without them.  Help me bring ‘em down, would ya’?”

            Having nothing better to do, Mikey followed Raph into the elevator and up to the garage.

            “What’s Don doing?” Mikey asked as he grabbed a stack of the rectangular weighted plates that fit the machine.

            “He’s trying ta piece together some motion sensors for the outside of the garage,” Raph said.  “He’s gonna hook a camera up ta them so that anyone comes within a few feet of the door gets hit by floodlights and has their picture taken.  Don says the other side of that door is our most vulnerable spot right now and something’s gotta be done about it pronto.”

            “Sometimes I feel guilty playing video games while Don’s working on stuff to make us safer,” Mikey said as he entered the elevator with an armload of weights.

            Raph grinned.  “Ya’ might remember that later when he needs some help stringing up those lights.”

            The two of them spent some time securing the weighted plates into place and then Mikey helped Raph wrap the seat after replacing some of the missing padding with scraps of cloth.

            When they were done, Raph stepped back and eyed his new toy with obvious pleasure.  It was the first real piece of exercise machinery they had and Raph seemed very proud of it.

            “So take it for a spin dude,” Mikey said, grinning at his brother.

            Raph practically leapt into the seat, leaning to the side to adjust the amount of weight he wanted to lift.  Placing both feet flat on the foot plate, Raph grabbed the handles on each side of the seat and pushed with his legs.

            The seat slid back smoothly and Raph repeated the move, his smile growing brighter with each repetition.  It really didn’t take all that much to make Raph happy, Mikey realized.  Working out, practicing with his brothers, a good sports game on TV, beating up some bad guys and kicking back with a friend or his family.

            Mikey thought about his own soaring dreams of being a super hero, or a movie star with millions of fans, or even a successful comic book illustrator.  He liked his dreams; he thought they could someday come true if he worked at them hard enough.

            For Raph, life was all about the here and now.  Home and family.  Falling in love with one of his brothers and having that love returned.

            “Hey, Raph,” Mikey asked softly, “what’s it like to be in love?”

            Raph stopped moving as he looked at Mikey in surprise.  “Shell, Mikey, I ain’t good with words.”

            “You found enough of them to tell Donny how you feel, didn’t you?” Mikey asked.

            “Sure, I guess,” Raph said.  “But I thought ya’ didn’t want ta hear about that stuff.”

            “I _don’t_ wanna hear about sex,” Mikey said quickly.  “I want to know how you know it isn’t just brotherly love or lust.”

            “Maybe it is,” Raph said, turning sideways so he could sit facing Mikey.  “Maybe it’s a combination of those two things.  I don’t know how other people describe it, all I know is how I feel.  Ta me, the world revolves around Donatello.  He makes me see things, _good_ things, about our life.  He understands what moves me and what motivates me ‘cause he’s living it with me.  Donny’s strong when I’m weak and he holds my head up for me when I’m feeling beaten.  I can’t describe it better than that.”

            “But you guys still do things with Leo,” Mikey said.  “Is that just physical?”

            Raph scratched his brow.  “No it ain’t.  Geez, Mikey, ya’ make me feel like some teenage girl trying ta explain her emotions.  I wouldn’t even be doin’ this if I didn’t think it was important for ya’ ta understand why the three of us started havin’ sex, okay?”

            “I’m not running away or putting you down about it anymore, am I?” Mikey asked seriously.  “This is my home and I’ve gotta live here with you guys.  Maybe if it makes better sense to me it won’t freak me out so much.”

            Raph sighed.  “I love Leo too,” he said.  “So does Don.  Leo gives us his tenacity; that force that makes him so driven all the time.  Shit, I like ta be the best I can be, but fuckin’ Leo wants ta be perfect.  He ain’t doin’ that ‘cause he’s full of himself either, he’s doing it ‘cause one of us has ta.

            “That ain’t a fun job he took on, being our leader.  I know damn well I don’t make it no easier on him, but he understands why I argue about stuff.  When we’re close ta him, giving him that sexual release, that’s how we make sure he stays connected ta us.  It’d be fuckin’ easy for him ta just drift off into the stratosphere and martyr his life for the three of us.  I ain’t havin’ that, I need him ta stay grounded and a part of us.”

            Mikey nodded, his eyes staring down at Raph’s feet as he thought about what his brother was saying.  He’d felt that about Leo too; about the burden his oldest brother had chosen to carry.  For them.

            When he saw Raph’s feet move he looked up to find his brother only a few inches in front of him.  Their eyes met and held.

            “We love ya’ too, Mikey,” Raph said in a hoarse undertone.  “We never thought ta leave ya’ out of anything, we just didn’t know how ya’ felt.  Ya’ don’t get depressed or emotional like the three of us do, ya’ always seem ta have your shit together.  We didn’t know how ta approach ya’ with something ya’ might not even need.”

            The heat from Raph’s body poured over Mikey, warming him both inside and out.  He could hear Raph’s ragged breathing and realized that his brother was becoming excited by their proximity.  Raph wasn’t moving though; unlike that morning at practice when Raph had gotten physical with him, this time his brother seemed to be holding onto his control.

            Mikey found that he was becoming more than a little affected by Raph’s always close to the surface emotions.  The passion that Mikey had felt from his brother the night before last while they were in the kitchen came back in dizzying waves.

            Very slowly, Raph brought his hands up to Mikey’s biceps and then slid his palms upwards until they were flat on his younger brother’s shoulders.  His gaze remained locked with Mikey’s, Raph’s movement slow and precise so as not to frighten his brother away.

            Stepping closer, Raph lowered his head and touched his lips to Michelangelo’s.

            Mikey’s eyes closed as soon as his brother’s mouth reached his.  The light kiss felt good, really good, and Mikey found that he wanted to continue.  He wanted to deepen the kiss further, to feel more of Leo’s  . . . .

            Jerking back and away from Raph, Mikey’s eyes snapped open.  Raph didn’t move to follow him, instead staring at his brother with a puzzled expression.  He had kissed Don and Leo enough to know when they were enjoying the contact, and Mikey had started to respond.

            Wide eyed, Mikey stammered, “I . . . I’m gonna go find Leo.  I th . . . think I promised to do something for him.”

            Spinning on his heel, he darted off and out of the dojo.

            Raph spent another minute trying to comprehend what had happened when he started to understand.  A corner of his mouth lifted into a smile.  Mikey had been thinking about Leo while Raph was trying to kiss him.  It wasn’t that Mikey didn’t want to be kissed by one of his brothers, he just had a certain one in mind.

            Chuckling as he returned to the leg press, Raph decided he was probably going to have to concede this challenge to Leo.  Somehow big brother had managed to do what the rest of them had not, broken through Mikey’s barriers enough to make their little brother want him.

            Judging from the way Mikey had trembled and begun to press back against his lips, Raph was guessing that Mikey wanted Leo pretty badly.

TBC……………….


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,982  
> Rated: R

            Mikey lost track of Leo.  After the encounter with Raph in the dojo, Mikey had been confused and in need of Leo’s soothing presence.

            Looking towards Master Splinter’s room first, Mikey saw that the shoji was open and the room empty.  He heard his Father’s voice coming from Don’s lab and headed in that direction.

            Master Splinter and Don were discussing the new security enhancements that the genius turtle was working on, but that talk didn’t include Leo.  The eldest brother was nowhere to be found.

            “Has anyone seen Leo?” Mikey asked.

            The pair glanced at him, both shaking their heads before going back to their discussion.

            Mikey stood in the doorway to Don’s lab, his mind a thousand miles away as his Father and brother’s voices washed over him.

            “ . . . happy to assist you,” Master Splinter said.

            “Mikey, that would be wonderful.  It will go so much faster with another pair of hands,” Don told him.

            “Huh?” Mikey asked, realizing that they were addressing him.

            “Earth to Mikey,” Don teased.  “Weren’t you listening?  I have some security equipment that needs to be installed and Master Splinter volunteered your services.”

            “Oh,” Mikey said and then shrugged.  “Sure.  Whatever you need.”

            “Okay, where’s the real Michelangelo and what have you done to him?” Don asked jokingly.

            Mikey laughed but his mind wasn’t really there.  He’d been thinking about how Raph had just kissed him.  It wasn’t much beyond their lips touching, but it was still a kiss.  His first kiss.  Mikey had been standing in Don’s lab wishing his first kiss could have belonged to Leo.

            He was still thinking about that in fact, although his Father was looking at him strangely and Donny’s eyes had lit up.  Just a couple of days ago the thought of kissing one of his brothers would have made him puke.  A couple of days ago he would have punched Raph’s lights out for even _trying_ to kiss him.

            Now all he could think about was how nice Leo’s mouth was.  Mikey was even wondering how his oldest brother tasted.

            “Do you feel well, Michelangelo?” Master Splinter asked.  He lifted his head and his nose twitched.  “Your scent is off, are you ill?”

            Don jumped up from his seat and grabbed a box full of electronics, rushing towards the door to shove it into Mikey’s hands.  He then snatched up his tool kit and another equipment laden box before nudging Mikey out of the lab with his hip.

            “Mikey’s a little dirtier than normal from our practice session sensei,” Don said quickly.  “He chose to traverse the maze on his stomach rather than his feet.”

            Finally snapping out of his stupor, Mikey said, “Sorry sensei.  I was helping Raph move some stuff around and never got a chance to shower.  I’ll do it after I help Don with his gizmos.”

            “That would be wise my son.  Good hygiene is essential to good health,” Master Splinter said.

            Rushing to the elevator with Don, Mikey mumbled, “I feel like I’m four.”

            Once they were inside and the doors had closed, Don stared at him.  Mikey was looking down at the things in the box he was carrying, but Don’s eyes brought his head up and around.

            “What?” Mikey asked.

            “I can smell it too,” Don said with a slight smile.

            Mikey scowled.  “Rub it in.  I’m dirty and sweaty from helping Raph lug that ginormous weight machine around and . . . .”

            “That isn’t what I’m referring to,” Don interrupted.  “You’re sexually aroused.  Didn’t you know our scent changes when that happens?”

            Mikey blinked and shook his head.  “Is that why you guys smell different sometimes?”

            Don laughed lightly.  “Yes.  It probably isn’t noticeable to humans, but turtles have an excellent sense of smell.  And Master Splinter’s nose is unequaled in its ability to pick up the unusual.  Good thing for us he doesn’t know what that deeper musky scent denotes.”

            “Oh shell, have I been giving this scent off all morning?” Mikey asked.  “Crap, then that explains why . . . .” he stopped suddenly.

            “Why what, Mikey?” Don asked.  When Mikey didn’t say anything, Don gave him a knowing look.  “Did something happen with Raph while you were helping him?”

            “M . . . maybe,” Mikey stammered as the elevator reached the garage.

            The door opened but Don made no effort to exit.  “Raph approached you again, didn’t he?”

            Mikey’s eyes were wide but for once he didn’t know what to say.  Don was in love with Raph and Mikey did not want Donatello pissed off at him.

            Don set the tool kit and his box in the open door so that the elevator wouldn’t descend and then he approached his brother.  Mikey held onto his box tightly, using it as a shield between Don and himself.

            “Mikey,” Don said in a low, soothing voice.  He lifted a hand to cup Mikey’s cheek.  “This is why Raph, Leo and I are all together.  Sharing one another prevents us from feeling jealousy or possessiveness.”

            “He k . . . kissed me,” Mikey blurted out.  “I mean, he s . . . sorta kissed me.  I ran away.”

            “And immediately began searching for Leo,” Don said.  “Something has changed for you hasn’t it, Mikey?”

            “I don’t know,” Mikey responded, rallying his emotions and reverting to his normal good humor.  “Come on and show me what needs to be done.”

            Don stayed where he was, his thumb stroking Mikey’s cheek.  “Can I give you one piece of advice first?”

            Mikey found himself staring at Don’s mouth again, just as he had done in practice.  He nodded and managed to bring his eyes up so that he could look into Don’s dark orbs.  Why hadn’t he ever noticed how much tender care Don could manage to convey with just his eyes?

            “When your heart talks to you, take the time to listen to it,” Don told him.

            “Okay,” Mikey said in a whisper.

            Don smiled softly and pulled his hand away, turning to retrieve the objects he’d set down.  Mikey followed him in something akin to a fog, his cheek where Don had touched him tingling much the way his lips had when Raph had kissed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            It had taken several hours for Leo to acquire what he needed from April.  She was mildly curious because it wasn’t the sort of request she normally got from Leo, but her store had been busy so she didn’t have time to wonder about it for long.

            Pulling up her online account, April had handed her laptop over to Leo and he’d searched for what he wanted, reserving things as he ran across them.  He waited in her basement until she closed up shop and then went to pick up his order, bringing it back to him in a large plastic sack.

            By that time she was too tired to be curious and waved her good-bye as he disappeared into the tunnel beneath her home.  April was just thankful that at least this time the request for help wasn’t a life or death situation.

            Leo hurried to get back to the lair by dinnertime.  He had told Master Splinter that he was going straight to April’s to pick up something for Mikey and that he would be back before their evening meal.  Having his Father begin to worry about him was not how Leonardo wanted this particular night to begin.

            As he rounded a corner near the lair he immediately sensed a presence and stopped, sliding back into the shadows quickly.

            A deep, bass chuckle stayed his hand just as Leo was reaching for his katana.  He watched Raph move out from his own shadowed hiding spot, his arms hanging at his sides, his thumbs riding his hips in a cocky manner.

            “Ya’ go off on a shopping spree all by yourself, Leo?” Raph asked.  “Don’t ya’ usually give me shit for doing that exact same thing?”

            Leo moved back into the tunnel.  “I told Master Splinter where I was going and that I wouldn’t go topside.  Were you looking for me for a particular reason?”

            “Yeah,” Raph said.  “I want ta have a little conversation about Mikey.”

            Walking towards his brother, Leo tried to read Raph’s facial expression in an attempt to glean some clue as to his intent.  Raph’s mouth was turned up into a smug smile, his gold eyes shining as though he was holding a straight flush.

            Leo’s mouth went dry.  Right then he began to wonder if he should have left the lair at all since Mikey was now both open and vulnerable.

            “I wish I had a mirror so ya’ could take a look at your face,” Raph said with a laugh.  “It’s priceless.  You’re wondering what happened while ya’ were gone aren’t ya’?”

            “Something happened?” Leo asked, attempting to sound unconcerned.

            Raph cocked his head to the side and studied Leo, who was now carefully hiding his feelings.  He hadn’t been fast enough.

            “This ain’t just a competition ta see who can get ta Mikey first with ya’, is it Leo?  Don’t bother ta deny it,” Raph said quickly before Leo could speak.  “I’ve been watchin’ ya’ working with him the last couple months.  Mikey flips a switch on for ya’ doesn’t he?  Somethin’ special like what Don does for me.”

            “Do you want that information so you can play games with me?” Leo asked suspiciously.

            “No,” Raph said flatly.  “That ain’t why we decided ta be together the way that we are.  That part of our lives is off limits ta petty jealousy and  manipulation.  If we don’t keep ta that pact then we can’t have this anymore.  Ya’ reminded me of that yourself when I wanted to smack Mikey for upsetting Donny.”

            “I have always found Mikey to be very  . . . special,” Leo admitted.  “Our pact holds, I won’t resort to jealousy or possessiveness.”

            “I’m glad ta hear that,” Raph told him.  “While ya’ were gone, Mikey helped me move some stuff down from the garage and then he asked me about feelings.  He wanted ta know what it was like ta be in love.”

             Raph gave out a short laugh.  “I never thought I’d hear him ask that and I especially didn’t expect ta ever have him ask me.  I thought maybe he was givin’ me a green light, so I tried ta kiss him.”

            He didn’t say that he’d actually pressed his mouth to Mikey’s because it hadn’t been much more than that.  Raph wasn’t trying to upset Leo nor was he bragging; he did however,  want to gauge Leo’s feelings for their youngest brother.

            Leo swallowed the growl that threatened to rise from his throat.  “There’s no reason why you shouldn’t have,” Leo managed to say in a fairly even tone.

            A quick gleam flashed in Raph’s eyes.  “Where Mikey’s concerned, ya’ ain’t much good at hiding your feelings, Leo.  Ya’ might wanna work on that.”

            “The same way you hide your feelings about Donny?” Leo asked.

            “I ain’t gotta hide my feelings about him anymore, ‘cept around Master Splinter,” Raph said.  “I’m out here ‘cause I wanted ta tell ya’ something before ya’ went back into the lair.  The first thing was that Mikey and I talked and I tried ta kiss him.  The second thing is he pulled away from me and took off looking for ya’.”

            Raph stopped in order to let his words sink in.  Leo was staring at him, but his eyes were unseeing as he processed what Raph had just said.

            “He wanted me?” Leo asked, not really aware of the double meaning in his words.

            Raph was.  “He wants ya’,” he said.  “I yield bro’.  That’s one of the other reasons I’m out here.  I know when I’m licked.  Ya’ got ta him and he wants ta be with ya’.  I don’t know if he understands all of the ramifications, but I’m guessing ya’ ain’t through working on him yet.”

            “You’re just giving up on the chase?” Leo asked suspiciously.

            Raph shrugged and said, “Sure.  This ain’t like our other challenges, bro’.  If I keep screwing around trying ta weasel back into Mikey’s good graces somebody could get hurt and I don’t play like that.  If he’s willing ta be with us too at some point, I know you’ll share ‘cause that’s how we do things.  Besides,” he added with a grin, “you’re in love with the little shit and ya’ have been for some time.”

            It was Leo’s turn to laugh.  “Is that why you initiated this challenge, so that you could push me to work on Mikey and leave you free to find out how Don really felt about you?”

            Raph frowned before grinning widely.  “I knew you’d figure it out sooner or later.  I was hoping it would be after Don and I got a chance ta open up ta each other.  It worked out okay for me so I’m feeling magnanimous enough ta want this ta work out for Mikey and ya’.”

            “Never mind the fact that Mikey is out of your league?” Leo couldn’t help but say.  “I knew that first night when the three of us talked about this that you and Don didn’t have a chance with him.”

            “Keep it up and I’ll change my mind,” Raph threatened, though not very seriously.  “Let’s say I think Mikey’s more suited to your personality.  I wouldn’t have put it past him ta follow me out hear and listen ta our conversation, except that I know Master Splinter sent him off ta help Don.”

            “I do not listen to private conversations,” Leo said haughtily.

            Raph was laughing again.  “He does and ya’ know he does.  You’re probably gonna turn him into an information gathering spy.  I’ll have ta counter by havin’ Donny set up surveillance equipment.”

            Leo was chuckling along with him at the absurdity.  “I think Don could be a lot more dangerous in that department that Mikey.  Could you imagine going to the bathroom and lifting the lid to the commode . . . .”

            “And seeing a camera looking back at ya’?” Raph finished, nearly falling over with hysterical laughter.

            For several minutes they were doubled over laughing, neither able to stop.  Every time one would glance at the other, the laughter started again.

            It finally started to taper off and they were left trying to catch their breath.  Raph rarely got to see Leo laugh so hard and the joy of that moment got to him.

            Stepping close to his brother, Raph twisted one of his hands in Leo’s mask tails, holding his brother in place as he ravished Leo’s mouth.  Leo offered no resistance, allowing his spontaneous brother to do as he pleased.

            When Raph pulled away he was wearing his signature cocky grin.

            “Ya’ know that Mikey might be more of a challenge than ya’ think, don’t ya’ Leo?” Raph questioned in a husky whisper, his face inches from his brother’s.  “He might not be willin’ ta bottom for ya’ like the rest of us do.  What are ya’ gonna do if he wants your virgin ass?  Ya’ gonna give it up?”

            “Wishful thinking, Raph?” Leo asked.

            “Maybe I figured out that ya’ were saving yourself for a reason,” Raph said.  “Maybe I started this ‘cause I knew the only way I’d get a shot at fuckin’ ya’ was ta let Mikey take ya’ first.”

            “You came up with an idea that has quite a reach, bro’,” Leo said.  “It helped you discover Don’s true feelings, pulls Mikey into our intimacy and, you hope, loosens me up as well.  I always knew you were capable of long range planning.”

            “Laugh at me all ya’ want,” Raph murmured smugly.  “I’ll have the last laugh.  By the way, ya’ ain’t even made it ta first base with him, so I wouldn’t start getting too overconfident just yet.”

            Leo stepped back, the bag he was holding crackling with his movement.  Raph released the hold he had on Leo’s mask and glanced at the bag.

            “You forget that I always have a plan,” Leo said.

            Before he could stop Raph, his brother snatched the bag from Leo’s hand and peeked inside.  The look of puzzled curiosity he gave Leo was eloquent.

            “I’m glad I’m not sitting through these with him,” Raph finally said.  Reaching inside he snagged two of the half dozen DVD’s Leo had rented through April.

            “’The Ring’,” Raph read the titles.  “’The Grudge’.  Ya’ know these are liable ta give him nightmares don’t ya’?”

            Leo said nothing, merely holding his hand out.  Raph slowly replaced the movies and handed the bag back to his brother.

            “He’ll eat this shit up,” Raph acknowledged.  “Mikey has always loved a good scary movie.  He used ta always have nightmares after watching one too.  That hasn’t happened in a long time though, so if you’re planning on him waking up screaming for ya’ like he did when he was a kid, you’re liable ta have a long, lonely night.”

            “Not only do I always have a plan A, I also make sure to have a plan B, C and D,” Leo said softly.

            Raph snorted, his humor evident.  “In other words, Mikey’s having a nightmare tonight whether he really has one or not.”

            Leo watched him carefully as he asked, “What are your plans for the night?”

            Raph wore his most innocent expression.  “Me?  I think Don was planning on having me help him with some ‘experiments’ in his lab tonight.  Neither of us are gonna be able ta hear a thing.”

            Leo flashed his brother another rare smile.  Heart beating fast, Raph smiled in return.  Tonight was going to be special; a night that would change all of their lives for the better.  He knew Leo would make sure of that.

TBC………………..


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,920  
> Rated: NC-17 Heavy TCest

            Once the brothers entered the lair they separated, Raph heading upstairs to shower and Leo going in search of Mikey.

            He found both Mike and Don in the kitchen preparing spaghetti for the family dinner.  His brothers had a fresh scrubbed look and smelled of soap, reminding Leo that he needed to rinse off before the table was set.

            His brothers were chattering away like the best of friends and Leo stood in the doorway without saying anything for several moments.  It felt good to know that they were now at total peace with each other again.

            Steam was rising from a pan on the stove and when Mike reached around for a pot holder, he spotted Leo.  The smile that Mikey turned on for him could have melted a glacier.

            “Leo!” Mikey yelped.  “Where did you go dude?  I was looking for you earlier.”

            “I had to run an errand,” Leo said.  “Did you need me for some reason?”

            “I, uh . . . .”  At a sudden loss for words, Mikey’s cheeks reddened just a bit.

            Don cut in tactfully, “He was hoping you’d rescue him somehow from being forced to help me set up the security equipment around the garage.”

            Mikey glanced at him gratefully, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Leo.  The eldest brother said nothing, however.

            “It wasn’t so bad after we got started,” Mikey said.  “Don even let me use the power drill for once.”

            “His baby?” Leo asked with a laugh.  “You must have been really helpful to get him to turn that over.”

            “So what was this errand you needed to do?” Mikey asked.  Seeing the package in Leo’s hands, he added, “Did you bring me something?”

            This usual question from Mikey was nearly always answered with a ‘no’ from any member of the family who brought something new into the lair.  This time Leo could answer in the affirmative.

            “Yes I did actually,” Leo told him.

            Mikey practically leaped at him, reaching for the bag simultaneously.  Leo handed it to him to save himself from being run over.

            “Dude,” Mikey said in a long exhale as he saw the movies, “too cool.  I’ve been dying to see some of these.  What’s the occasion?”

            Leo laughed.  “There isn’t one really.  I just remembered that you haven’t had a horror movie night in a while and I wanted to reward you for doing so well in the last couple of challenges.”

            Don was setting the table and shaking his head, smiling as he did so.  “Before you ask, Michelangelo, I am not sitting up to watch those with you.  Maybe one, but that’s my limit.  Those types of movies do not give me the same kind of thrill they seem to give you.”

            “You’ll watch them with me though, won’t you Leo?”  Mikey’s eyes were wide as he looked hopefully at his big brother.

            “I made the effort to rent them for you, so I suppose I should keep you company,” Leo said.  “You aren’t going to try to watch all of them tonight are you?”

            “Nah,” Mikey said with a smile.  “I’ll just pick out a couple and then I’ll still have some for tomorrow night.”

            “Dinner will be on the table in about fifteen minutes,” Don said meaningfully.

            “I need to shower,” Leo said, turning to leave.

            “Thanks Leo,” Mikey called after him, his eyes wistfully glued to his big brother’s shell.

            Dinner was a happy affair and Master Splinter appeared to be quite pleased with that fact.  Don had moved his chair a little closer than normal to Raph’s, but not so close as to call attention to the maneuver.  Every once in a while, when their sensei wasn’t looking, Raph’s hand would dip down under the table and Don would start to grin uncontrollably.

            Mikey was much more tolerant of their behavior than he’d ever been in the past, or possibly he was too engrossed in hanging on every word Leonardo said to pay much attention to his other siblings.  Leo for his part was happy to oblige him and the two kept up an animated discussion throughout the meal.

            All four brothers cleared away the dinner things and helped wash up after the meal.  Their teamwork made the chore go quickly; tonight there was no squabbling, they all seemed content to complete the task as a unit.

            Master Splinter was watching a program when his sons stepped out of the kitchen, their light hearted banter making him smile.  He heard the word ‘movie’ and stood up from his chair to look over at them.

            “My show has just ended my sons.  I have some correspondence with the Ancient One that I must complete and then I shall retire for the evening.  I trust that since this appears to be movie night, none of you has plans to leave the lair?” Master Splinter asked.

            Leo looked around at his brothers, catching the flash of humor in Raph’s eyes before turning to his Father.

            “No sensei.  We are all staying in for the evening,” Leo said.

            “That is excellent,” Master Splinter said.  “It will be nice to have a worry free night.”

            Smiling, he left them, followed by a chorus of ‘good nights’.  Once the shoji was closed behind him, Mikey pounced on the sack of movies, dumping the entire lot onto the coffee table.

            “Don said he’ll stay for at least one, Raph.  That means you gotta stay too,” Mikey said excitedly as he pawed through the stack.

            Raph rolled his eyes at Don who merely shrugged.  The way Mikey had phrased his demand made it sound as if he was accepting of them as a couple and since that was a major step forward, Don willed his lover to humor the youngest.

            “Fine,” Raph said with a huff.  “But ya’ gotta make popcorn with a shitload of butter on it.”

            Mikey smiled brilliantly at him.  “Okay, give me a couple of minutes and then put this one on.”  He shoved a movie into Don’s hands and sped out of the room.

            Don looked down at the movie title and shuddered.  “Why exactly are we indulging Mikey with this collection of rot-your-brain classics?”

            He watched as Leo and Raph exchanged looks and then lifted an eye ridge.  “Oh,” he said, walking over to the DVD player and setting the movie in place, waiting for Mikey’s return before hitting play.

            Turning to the other two, Don told Leo, “This has got to be your most convoluted plan yet.”

            Raph scooped up the remote and tossed it to his genius brother.  Don snagged it in mid-air without taking his eyes off of Leo.

            “Hey, it might be a little twisted,” Raph said, “but it’s working.  Don’t knock it, Donny.”

            Don turned his gaze on Raph and grinned.  “I’m including you in that statement too, Raphael.  You started this whole thing.”

            “No I didn’t start this whole thing,” Raph corrected him.  “Leo did.  I just came up with the idea ta push Mikey into it with us.”

            “And you two will now hush,” Leo whispered hoarsely as Mikey appeared in the kitchen door carrying two huge bowls of popcorn.

            Mikey lifted the bowls high as he came up to his siblings.  “Extra butter on both.  Here,” he said, handing a bowl to Raph.  “Share this with Donny.  Me and Leo will share this one.”

            It escaped no one’s attention that Mikey had maneuvered the situation so that Leo would have to sit near him.  Raph kept a straight face as he slid into the worn loveseat and patted the cushion next to him.  Don sat down and wiggled until he was comfortably pressed against his brother.

            Mikey sat in the exact center of the couch, leaving Leo no option other than to sit next to him.  Don bit his lip to keep from smiling as he pressed the start button on the remote and settled back, leaning into Raph’s shoulder slightly as he reached for a handful of popcorn.

            The first movie spun out predictably although Don gave it a better than average rating because of the special effects.  Near the end, Raph was more interested in a certain spot on Don’s neck and Don had started crossing and uncrossing his legs.

            As the final credits rolled, Don tossed the remote to Mikey and stood up, his posture just a little stiff.  Raph jumped up at nearly the same moment.

            “That’s it for me, Mikey,” Don said.  “Today was kind of tiring.”

            “Yeah,” Raph agreed, his voice low and husky.  “I’m done too.  Think I’ll go tuck Donny into bed.”

            Neither Mikey or Leo said anything as their brothers left.  Mikey got up to change the movie in the player and saw Raph grab Don’s elbow and yank him into the lab.

            He looked over at Leo, who was seated comfortably on the couch.  “I thought they were tired, but they just ducked into Don’s lab.”

            “The daybed,” Leo said in answer.

            “Oh yeah.”  Mikey turned towards the player so that Leo wouldn’t notice the flush that colored his cheeks for a moment.  Sometimes he felt really dense.

            Leo noticed how Mikey stiffened slightly and saw the hint of color on the back of his neck.  The sight made him suddenly warm all over and his tail straightened.  Mikey’s scent had been growing steadily stronger and if Leo didn’t find a way to remain calm it wouldn’t be long before Mikey picked up the smell of arousal coming off of him.

            “Ready for the next movie, dude?” Mikey asked, pressing the play button before Leo had a chance to answer.  With a giant bound, Mikey plowed into the couch, managing to sit even closer to Leo than before.

            Mikey was enjoying his movie marathon a lot, but he was also enjoying Leo’s company just as much, if not more.  Having Leo sitting next to him made the movie better, the popcorn better, and everything else in the world better.  He couldn’t understand why he’d never understood that before.

            When that movie ended, Mikey pleaded with Leo to watch another, not because he was all that interested in the movie, but because he didn’t want the night to end just yet.  In fact, Mikey hadn’t paid much attention to the movie they’d _just_ watched, too intent on sneaking glances at Leo’s profile.

            Mikey felt like he should say something, or do something, he just didn’t know what.  The best he could come up with was to keep Leo near him for as long as possible.

            They watched the third movie, exchanging comments throughout.  Leo was so perceptive that Mikey thoroughly enjoyed their conversation regarding the acting and the plot twists.  He was also surprised when the movie credits started to roll.

            Unfortunately, Leo stood up and stretched, covering a yawn with his hand.

            “One more?” Mikey asked with little hope for success.

            He was right.  Leo shook his head and smiled.  “It’s after midnight.  I think the rest can wait for tomorrow night, don’t you?”

            “Yeah.” Mikey seemed to deflate a little.  “You’ll watch with me again, won’t you?”

            “Of course I will,” Leo said, setting a hand on Mikey’s shoulder.  “Come on, I’ll clear away these bowls if you’ll grab the cups.”

            Together they tidied up and then headed off to their rooms.  Mikey stared longingly at Leo’s closed door after his brother bade him goodnight and disappeared behind it.

            With a sigh, Mikey stripped off his gear, turned out the lights and crawled into bed.

            Two hours later, Leo was standing outside of Mikey’s room, his head turned to the side so he could listen at the door.  He could hear an occasional low murmur which meant that Mikey was sound asleep.  Mikey often talked to his dreams.

            His mouth curved into a smug smile as he carefully turned the doorknob and stepped into his little brother’s room.  The only illumination came from a small lamp that sat on the floor in a corner.  It’s glow was slight, but it was never turned off.  The lamp was Mikey’s way of shoving aside the shadows even when he slept.

            Leo’s face relaxed as he looked from the lamp to Mikey.  That was one of the many reasons Leo was drawn to the youngest.  Whenever the shadows tried to overtake Leo, Mikey managed to find a way to disburse them.  With Mikey around, the darkness might try, but it would never have a chance at consuming Leonardo.

            Moving silently across the room, Leo came to stand next to Mikey.  He studied his brother’s features; relaxed in sleep he looked so innocent.  Leo had a momentary qualm about what he was trying to achieve, but then he remembered how Mikey had behaved towards him throughout the day and how strong his brother’s scent had been while they were watching movies together.

            With no further thought, Leo carefully slid into bed next to Mikey, his eyes glued to Mikey’s slumbering face.  When he was flat on his side facing his brother, Leo called softly, “Mikey.”

            Mikey murmured something in his sleep but didn’t rouse.  Leo’s mouth twitched upwards and he tried again.

            “Mikey,” Leo said, a little louder this time.

            Mikey’s head rolled slightly on his pillow before his eyes fluttered open.  His gaze was completely blank for a full minute before he realized that Leo was lying next to him.

            “L . . . Leo?  What  . . . ?” Mikey stuttered.

            “You were having a bad dream,” Leo said.  “I didn’t want to frighten you further by waking you suddenly.”

            “O~kay,” Mikey said, his brow furrowed.  “I don’t even remember it dude.”

            “That’s good right?” Leo asked.  “You should be able to get back to sleep easily then.”

            “I suppose,” Mikey said, both confused and comforted by Leo’s presence.

            “Do you want me to stay here for a bit like I did when we were kids?” Leo wanted to know.

            “Sure, I guess so,” Mikey answered, feeling less sleepy now but not really wanting Leo to leave.

            “Relax and go back to sleep,” Leo told him, turning onto his carapace, his hands clasped together over his stomach.

            Mikey closed his eyes but couldn’t sleep.  His breathing had grown erratic as Leo’s body heat swept over him and then he noticed Leo’s scent, the musky odor strong and seductive.

            His eyes popped open.  Don had told him a scent that strong meant arousal, so did that mean that Leo was excited _now_?

            Rather than becoming alarmed, Mikey found that he was intrigued instead.  Leo’s nearness and his scent were beginning to have an effect on him.  Mikey knew that his scent would soon tell Leo his secret if it hadn’t already.

            Remembering how Raph’s warm lips had made him think of Leo, Mikey lifted himself up on one arm and looked down at his older brother.  Leo’s eyes were closed, his face – his _mouth_ , so near and so extremely inviting.

            Almost without conscious thought, Mikey found himself asking, “Leo, can I touch you?”

            Leo’s eyes opened slowly to find Mikey hovering above him.  His gaze wanted to dart to Mikey’s mouth, but Leo forced himself to keep his eyes locked on Mikey’s.

            “Touch me how, Mikey?” Leo asked quietly.

            Mikey could feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest and he swallowed audibly.

            “I just . . . like this,” he said as he laid a trembling hand on Leo’s shoulder.

            Closing his eyes, Mike drew a deep breath in through his nostrils before opening his eyes again.  Mikey stared at his hand as he moved it down Leo’s arm in a light caress.  His brother’s skin felt warm against his palm and Mikey could feel the scars that marred Leo’s flesh.

            Leo remained perfectly still, his eyes fixed on Mikey’s as his youngest brother continued his exploration.  The look of rapt attention on Mikey’s face made Leo’s heart leap into his throat.

            Once his hand had traversed the length of Leo’s arm, Mikey reached over and touched tentative fingers to Leo’s upper plastron.  His eyes darted up to Leo’s and when his older brother nodded, Mikey began to stroke Leo’s scutes, dipping his fingertips into each nick as though fascinated by them.

            When he reached Leo’s stomach, his brother lifted his hands out of the way.  Mikey bit his lip then and froze with indecision.

            “Should I leave now, Mikey?” Leo asked in a whisper.

            Mikey couldn’t answer for a moment, lost in a swirl of emotions.  He was overwhelmed by feelings, wanting to continue and discover for himself what intimacy was like, but also divided by the previous prejudices he’d held regarding sex.

            His fingers quivered and Leo reached up, touching his wrist lightly.

            “If you want me to go, I will,” Leo repeated.  “I’ll do anything you want me to, Mikey.”

            Mikey suddenly felt like it was hard to breathe.  Don had told him to listen to his heart, and Mikey’s heart did not want Leo to go.

            “No,” Mikey whispered in return.  “Please stay here.  I know you can smell how I feel, even if you can’t see it.”

            “All right,” Leo said.  “You lead.  Tell me what you want; how much you are comfortable with.  Ask me anything and I’ll answer.  Do as much or as little as you’d like.  I’m here for you.”

            Mikey couldn’t help but smile at Leo’s words; they mimicked his own thoughts exactly.  Leo was always there for him, had always been there for him.

            Leaning down, Mikey pressed his lips to Leo’s for a brief second and then lifted his head so that their mouths were a scant half inch apart.  His eyes searched Leo’s and found what he wanted to see, the same raw desire that was coursing through Mikey’s veins.

            Lowering his mouth once more, Mikey pushed against Leo’s lips.  They felt so soft against his own and he moved his head a little, trying to feel as much of Leo’s mouth as he could, but also asking what he should do next without using words.

            Mikey felt Leo’s mouth yield under his, his brother’s lips parting slowly.  The tip of Leo’s tongue came up to touch the small space between Mikey’s lips and Mikey opened his mouth in response.

            With his lips still pressed to Leo’s, Mikey tentatively rolled his tongue out to meet his brother’s.  Mikey’s entire body was shaking as he tasted Leo’s mouth, their tongues pushing against each other as the kiss deepened.

            The hand he had placed on Leo’s stomach moved around to his side and Mikey found himself gripping Leo tightly, his upper plastron connecting with his brother’s as their kiss grew more passionate.  Leo lifted his hand and grasped the back of Mikey’s neck, pulling his younger brother even closer, a small moan of hunger rising up from his chest.

            Mikey managed to break the kiss, but his lips remained close to Leo’s as he said, “I never knew it felt like this.”

            He was panting, his breath heating Leo’s face with heavy puffs of desire.  Leo took a deep breath of his own, pushing back his need so that he could move slowly.

            “It isn’t something anyone can tell you, Mikey.  It’s something you have to feel for yourself,” Leo explained.  “I share so much with Raph and Don, but I feel it’s so much deeper with you.”

            “You’ve been trying to help me understand for almost a week, haven’t you?” Mikey asked.  “Those challenges and the exercises; our talks.  I didn’t get it at first, but now I see that you were trying to open my eyes.”

            “I’ve been thinking about you for a long time,” Leo admitted.  “I had to know if you could ever feel anything in return.”

            Mikey smiled.  “I do, Leo.  I do.”

            Their mouths came together again, this time the hunger was strong and it was shared.  Mikey groaned, pulling himself closer to Leo and draping half of his body across his brother’s.

            Leo churred in response, the lustful sound vibrating his plastron and Mikey’s in turn.  Mikey knew that sound, he made it whenever he was pleasuring himself and knew that it meant Leo was extremely turned on.

            That made Mikey feel pretty proud of himself.  This might be the first time he ever really kissed anyone, but apparently he was doing a good job of it.

            His own churr rolled up and out, making Leo moan once more.  Mikey’s hand drifted down from Leo’s side to his hip and he began to stroke his brother’s skin.

            Leo retained his hold on Mikey’s neck but he shifted enough to pull his other arm from between them.  He set his hand flat against Mikey’s carapace and then ran it downwards until he reached the edge of Mikey’s shell.  With unerring accuracy, his hand found Mikey’s tail and he fisted it, squeezing gently but firmly.

            Mikey’s body jerked as Leo captured his sensitive tail.  In his entire life Mikey could not remember anything to ever feel as good as Leo’s hand wrapped around that small, wiggling appendage.

            In a split second Mikey also realized that he was growing incredibly hard, incredibly fast.

            Lifting his head again, he groaned, “Oh shell, Leo!  I’m . . . I have to . . . .”

            “Do it,” Leo urged, his voice deepened by lust.  His own cock was becoming painful trapped inside its prison.  By sheer willpower Leo held it in place, refusing to show himself first.

            With another groan, Mikey dropped down.  He’d never been so hard in his life, his shaft swollen and needy.  He pressed his mouth to the side of Leo’s neck, letting his hand drift over from Leo’s hip to between his older brother’s legs, where he could feel the solid bulge of Leo’s erection.

            “You now,” Mikey begged.  “Please, Leo.”

            The tone of Mikey’s voice sent a shiver down Leo’s spine and he could no longer contain his arousal.  His thick cock slid into the open and was immediately caught by Mikey’s roaming hand.

            With a shudder, Leo lifted his hips and thrust into Mikey’s palm.  The action pulled another churr from Mikey, who bit lightly at Leo’s collar bone and pressed his cock against Leo’s leg.

            “Le~o,” Mikey wailed against Leo’s skin.  “I don’t know what  . . . .”

            “Take me,” Leo whispered, pressing his beak to Mikey’s temple.  “I’ll tell you what to do.”

            Mikey lifted his head, shivering as Leo pulled his tail.  His cock was throbbing and he wanted Leo so badly his mind was barely functioning.

            “Tell me,” Mikey pleaded.  “Show me.”

            Leo nodded, took his hand off of Mikey’s neck, and began to spread his legs wider.  Mikey felt the movement, lifting his hips and then coming up onto his knees, Leo’s other hand falling away from his tail.  Retaining his hold on Leo’s weeping cock, Mikey crawled into the space Leo had made.

            Gasping with need, Leo reached for Mikey’s free hand and guided it over to the precome that had leaked in copious amounts onto his lower plastron.

            “Your finger, Mikey,” Leo husked lowly.  “Swipe up the liquid; you have to stretch and lube me.”

            Mikey looked down at Leo’s tail, which had flattened against the mattress, exposing his opening.  Quickly scooping precome onto one finger, Mikey gently pushed against Leo’s anus, stopping when Leo hissed.

            “It’s okay,” Leo told him.  “I’ll get used to it.  Use as much precome as you can and go slow.  Try to hold on.”

            Mikey nodded, focusing the way Leo had taught him, removing his mind from the pain between his legs so that he could ready Leo properly.

            His finger coated thickly with Leo’s precome, Mikey worked his way into his brother.  Leo was lying still, gazing at Mikey’s face from beneath hooded eyes.  The look of lust and excitement he saw there more than compensated for the burn of a finger inside of him.

            With his finger all the way in up to his knuckle, Mikey moved it around a little, pulling back and pushing forward carefully.

            “I’m too big to fit in here,” Mikey said quietly, his breathing ragged with need.

            “You’ll fit,” Leo told him.  “More lubricant now, and use two fingers.  Trust me.”

            Mikey flicked a tongue across his lips and did as Leo instructed.  When he had two fingers inside of Leo he twisted and turned them, not knowing what to do next.

            “You have to  . . . to scissor th . . . them,” Leo gasped out.

            “I’m hurting you,” Mikey said.

            “Distract me,” Leo told him.

            Mikey glanced at the hand he still had wrapped around Leo’s cock and began moving it, pumping Leo in a way he knew felt good.  Leo’s hips shifted and he churred, the pain of being stretched diminishing as Mikey stroked his needy shaft.

            As he jacked Leo, Mikey scissored his fingers inside his brother, thrusting them as he did so.  His fingers caressed Leo’s inner walls as he moved them and suddenly his brother jerked, his head slamming back against the pillow and his heels digging into the bed.

            “Are you okay?” Mikey asked quickly.

            Leo was breathing hard.  “Section of nerves.  Inside  . . . inside the body.  Feels so good.”

            Mikey grinned, remembering exactly where his fingers had been when Leo jumped.  Once more he ran his fingers across Leo’s inner walls and felt his brother’s dick twist in his hand as Leo groaned loudly.

            “Mikey,” Leo panted, lifting his head.  “Mikey, I’m ready.  Go now.”

            Pulling his fingers out of Leo’s ass, Mikey used both hands to adjust Leo’s hips to a better angle.  Guiding the tip of his cock against Leo’s entrance, Mikey took a deep breath and held it as he pushed in.

            “Ahh,” Leo exhaled, Mikey’s hot, thick cock stretching his virgin anal canal to its fullest.

            Leo grabbed a double handful of Mikey’s sheets, twisting them in his fists as Mikey moved further forward.  Buried to the hilt in delicious heat, Mikey shuddered, every instinct in his body telling him to move.

            “Leo,” Mikey whispered.  “Are you sure?”

            “Mikey, I have never f . . . felt anything more glorious,” Leo told him.  “You know what to do now.”

            Mikey sighed loudly, and then a churr escaped his throat as he pulled almost all the way out of Leo, the tight walls caressing his shaft as he moved.  His hips drove forward again, impaling Leo with his cock, and then Mikey fell into the rhythm of thrusting in and out of his brother.

            His hand on Leo’s cock moved faster, his gripped slicked by Leo’s precome.  The satiny interior of Leo’s ass pressed evenly around Mikey’s dick, providing the friction that the youngest desperately craved.

            Knowing he wouldn’t last long, Mikey aimed for the spot inside Leo that had given his brother so much pleasure.  Hitting it unerringly, Mikey grinned as Leo jerked under him, his heels beating the mattress.

            Mikey’s tail started to move and his asshole began to contract repeatedly as pressure built in Mikey’s groin.  Thrusting harder and faster, Mikey concentrated on trying to hit Leo’s soft spot, wanting his brother to come with him.

            “Leo, oh shell, Leo,” Mikey moaned.  “Leo, I’m gonna come.  Are you cl . . . close?”

            “Mmm,” Leo answered and then cried, “Mikey!” as he stiffened and climaxed.

            As Leo’s hot come spattered across his fingers, Mikey felt his brother’s inner muscles clamp down around him.  Already so close, that constriction pushed Mikey over the edge.

            “Leo!” Mikey shouted, spraying his ejaculate deeply into Leo’s body.  His hips kept moving as he pumped come into Leo’s ass, the feeling that he was marking Leo overwhelming his other emotions.

            Mikey barely managed not to just fall on Leo when he reached completion.  Lowering himself on shaky arms, he rested against Leo’s body.  Leo was hugging him tightly, their chests warring against each other for breath.

            When he felt he was capable of movement, Mikey rolled off of Leo, coming to rest against his brother’s side.  He felt eyes on him and lifted his head to find Leo looking at him.

            “I love you, Mikey,” Leo said.

            Mikey smiled.  “I love you too, Leo.  Thanks for being patient enough to show me what I was missing.”

            “You don’t mind the little tricks?” Leo asked.

            “Nah,” Mikey chuckled.  “I might have if I had realized what you were doing at the time.  I never knew you could be so devious.”

            “I was highly motivated,” Leo said with a smile.

            “And then you let me take you,” Mikey said, his voice filled with wonder.  “Does it . . . does it hurt that badly every time?”

            “Mostly just the first,” Leo said softly.

            “Just the . . . Leo?  Leo, did I . . . ?”  Mikey sat up and stared at his brother.

            “Yes, Mikey,” Leo answered.  “You took my virginity.”

            Mikey’s mouth was suddenly all over his, plundering the interior of Leo’s mouth with his tongue.  When they pulled apart, Mikey said in a breathless whisper, “I’m gonna return the favor.”

            Leo chuckled, pressing his forehead to Mikey’s.  “Later maybe.  How about we just sleep together for now?”

            “Okay,” Mikey lay back down, cuddling into Leo’s side.  “You’ll teach me everything won’t you Leo?  Don’t leave anything out.  I’ve been in the back of the class for too long.”

            “I’ll teach you, Mikey,” Leo promised.  “And you’ll teach me.”

TBC………………..


	18. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 1,860  
> Rated: NC-17

            The size of the daybed in Donatello’s lab made it impossible for Raphael to get up without waking his bother.

            Raph was tucked against the back frame and had to work his way from under Don’s arms and one of his legs.  Easing his bulk over his brother to step onto the floor caused Don to shift and when he did, his eyes blinked open.

            “Raph?” Don asked sleepily.  “What time is it?”

            “Shh, go back ta sleep,” Raph answered softly.  “It’s a little after four.  I’ll be right back, I gotta take a leak.”

            Don’s eyes slid shut but his mouth curved up into a smile.  “You’re going to check on Leo and Mikey.”

            “I might be a little curious,” Raph admitted cautiously.

            “Ri~ght.”  Don sighed and rolled over.  “Let me know what you find out.”

            He could hear Raph’s low chuckle as his brother exited the lab.  Squirming to get comfortable again, Don started to also wonder what had happened between his oldest and youngest brothers.

            Flipping onto his carapace, Don settled his head into the palms of his hands and played several different scenarios through his mind.  Mikey was by no means a pushover, so there was a fifty-fifty chance that Leo’s plan hadn’t worked.

            On the other hand, Mikey had seemed to recently have more than a brotherly interest in Leo.  If Leo had managed to pique his curiosity and to also wake up some of Mikey’s more primal urges, Leo might find himself holding a tiger by the tail.

            All that energy, exuberance, spirit, and agility would be more power than even Leonardo could harness.  The thought of Mikey finding his sexuality and then storming over Leo made Don laugh.  He could easily visualize Leo attempting to take his usual place as a seme and finding that Mikey had other ideas.

            Don suddenly found those mental pictures to be more than a little arousing.  Coupled with the fact that a certain part of his body was already stimulated as it usually was at this time of the morning, Don started to wish Raph would hurry back.

            Raph padded upstairs on silent feet, determined to discover if Leo’s plan had worked or backfired.  Since his oldest brother was normally a light sleeper and an early riser, Raph was careful to make absolutely no noise.

            Mikey’s door was closed, but Leo’s was open.  Having seen that the bathroom was unoccupied when he passed by it, Raph took a quick peek into Leo’s room.  It was empty and the bed tightly made.  Leo had not slept in his room.

            Biting his own tongue to hold back the satisfied sound he was tempted to make, Raph stepped up to Mikey’s door and lowered his head.  With his eyes closed he concentrated his other senses towards the inside of that room.

            The faint sounds of two sleeping turtles came to his ears and Raph nodded.  Leo had managed to crawl into bed with Mikey and stay there, that much Raph now knew.

            Moving a bit closer to the door, Raph lifted his head and widened his nostrils, inhaling slowly and deeply.  The smell of sex was so strong it almost knocked him over.

            Spinning lightly on his heel, Raph had to force himself to walk downstairs rather than bound.  A wide smile was painted across his face and he couldn’t wait to tell Don what he’d discovered.

            Barely remembering to hold down the noise level so as not to wake Master Splinter, Raph let himself back into Don’s lab.  With the door closed behind him, it took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

            “Hey Donny,” Raph called in a low voice.  “Guess who didn’t sleep in his own bed last night?”

            There was no answer from the bed and Raph rolled his eyes.  It was hard as shell to get his genius brother to go to sleep sometimes and it was just as hard to wake him.

            Crossing over to the bed, Raph said, “Come on Don, wake up for a couple minutes.”

            When he looked down at the mattress, he saw that Don wasn’t there.

            “Oh, I’m awake, Raphie,” Don whispered from behind him.

            Before Raph had a chance to turn around, Don had grasped his wrists.  Pulling them back and up forced Raph to bend over and Don pressed what had by now become a raging hard on against Raph’s tail.

            Shocked by his brother’s aggressive maneuver, it took Raph a moment to realize that the hard object rubbing against his tail and backside was Don’s penis.  A surge of adrenaline swept through his body and he grinned wildly as his own erection began to grow in response.

            “Damn, Donny,” Raph said, his voice dropping an octave.  “What’s gotten into ya’?”

            “I was thinking that now we could have a foursome,” Don answered, leaning over to nip at Raph’s shoulder.  “But before that happens, I want to take you up on your offer.”

            “What offer would that be?” Raph asked, knowing damn well what it was.

            “That you’d bottom for me,” Don told him.

            Holding onto Raph’s wrists with one hand, Don used his toes to grab the lube that he’d left lying on the floor next to the bed and lifted it to his hand.  Raph watched the exchange, grinning the entire time.

            “Ya’ know how easily I could get out of this hold and spin ya’ around, don’t ya’?” Raph asked.

            “Of course,” Don said with a chuckle.  “Do you want to?”

            Raph shook his head.  “Nope.  A deal’s a deal.”

            “Don’t worry,” Don said as the top popped open on the lubricant, “I’m so excited right now I doubt if I’ll last long.”

            “Take your time, Donny.”  Raph’s cock slipped into the open as Don released his wrists and pushed a well lubed finger into his entrance.  “I trust you’re gonna take care of me while you’re at it?”

            Don churred and then followed that with a grunt as he penetrated Raph for the first time.

            “Sh . . . shell, Raphie,” Don stammered as he began to thrust, forcing Raph to bend further forward and grab onto the mattress to keep from falling over.  “Hold on for a few min  . . . minutes and I’ll give you the b . . . best blow job you’ve ever had.”

            “I’m all over that,” Raph said, grinding his teeth as Don hit his sweet spot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “One up on you this morning, Leo!”

            Mikey’s loud chortle woke Raph, who turned his head and groaned as he looked at the wall clock.  This was one of the few mornings they normally got to sleep in, but Mikey had apparently forgotten that.

            Don was still asleep next to him and Raph smiled.  Being taken by Don had been a major eye opener.  For one thing, Don had bottomed enough to know what felt really good, and he was also damned accurate at striking a certain spot repeatedly.

            If Raph hadn’t wrapped a hand around himself he would have blown his wad before Don’s promised blow job.  And that had turned out to be something he wouldn’t have missed for the world.

            Shaking Don’s shoulder, Raph said, “Wake up sleepy head.  Let’s go make Mikey spill his guts about last night.”

            Don stretched and yawned.  “You aren’t planning to rub it in are you?  He’s probably sore and you’ll embarrass him.”

            Raph bounded out of bed.  “I won’t be too hard on the little nut ball,” Raph said with a grin.  “But he deserves a little payback for the grief he gave ya’ over this.”

            Don sat up and shook his head.  “He does not.  Mikey and I made up about that and you will leave it alone.”

            Raph’s grin turned into a tender smile.  “You’re a lot more forgiving than I am, Donny.  I love that about ya’.”

            Another loud shout from Mikey got Don out of bed.  The two of them followed the sound of their brother’s voices, discovering that Leo and Mikey were in the middle of a hot handball match.

            Standing off to the side, Raph and Don watched the action unfold.  If possible, Mikey was in an even more energetic mood than normal, bouncing from one side of the makeshift handball court to the other.

            Leo was moving fast to keep up with him, concentrating hard to anticipate where the ball would land.  He seemed to be having a slightly more difficult time keeping up with his brother this morning, possibly hampered by the huge smile on his face.

            After a few minutes of observation, Raph’s eyes narrowed.  Studying Leo’s movements, Raph saw that something was off.  It took another minute for him to figure it out.

            Nudging Don with his elbow, Raph suddenly burst out laughing.

            The sound stopped the handball game mid-action; Leo catching the ball as it bounced to him.  Both he and Mikey stared at their red banded brother.

            So did Don.  “What is so funny?” Don asked him.

            “D . . . didn’t ya’ see?” Raph stammered as he tried to get his amusement under control.  Walking towards his brothers, Raph pointed at Leo and asked, “How come you’re moving so slow today, bro’?  Ya’ act like ya’ might be in a little pain.  Something happen last night the two of ya’ wanna tell us about?”

            The corners of Leo’s mouth twitched upwards making Don gasp.

            “Did Mikey . . . ?” Don’s mouth snapped shut so fast his teeth clicked together.

            ‘Yeah, I did,” Mikey answered with a look of smug satisfaction.  “I might be late to this game, but I’m catching up.”

            “That’s what I like about ya’, Mikey,” Raph said as he reached down to slap Mikey’s butt.  “Ya’ give as good as ya’ get.”

            Mikey reached over and pinched Raph’s tail in response.  “I know who I’m going after next, too.”

            Leo’s smile grew wider as Raph protested, “No way is that happening, little bro’.”

            Mikey plucked the handball from Leo’s grip and bounced it on the ground.  “I’ll play you for it.”

            Raph stepped back, his palms up.  “Not in a million years.  Ya’ cheat at that game.”

            “Aw come one, Raph,” Mikey smiled brightly.  “I’ll even let you serve.”

            He threw the ball right next to Raph’s head.  Surprised, Raph lunged for it and suddenly felt the floor disappear.

            With a splash, Raph landed in the water of the channel feeding into the tide pool.  Spluttering, Raph grabbed the edge and stared daggers at his youngest brother.

            “You plotted out the last challenge, Raphie,” Mike told him.  “It’s my turn now.”

            “Why you little . . . .” Raph began.

            Turning to Don and Leo, Mikey asked, “Breakfast anyone?”  His two oldest brothers were laughing as they walked towards the kitchen.

            Spinning back towards Raph, Mikey squatted just out of reach of his wet brother and said, “Remember bro’, you’re the one who first offered to let me take you.”

            Jumping up, Mikey walked away.  After a moment, Raph started to laugh.

            The challenge wasn’t quite over.  None of them had managed to claim Mikey yet.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> This lovely art certificate was created by turtlesketches (DA)  
> 


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